Timothy’s Training
26/11/06 12:22
“Train
yourself to be godly, for physical training is of
some value, but godliness has value for all things,
holding promise for both the present life and the
life to come.”
I wonder if Timothy was a fitness freak; you know, maybe he ran marathons and stuff like that. Maybe he got the guys together on a Saturday afternoon and had push-up contests or something. He ate asparagus (plain) and watched his red meat intake. He was probably in his twenties, six foot and two hundred pounds. He had biceps that he had nicknamed “his guns” and the strength to have them shoot bullets. His chest was proportioned to his big shoulders that he could bear most any weight. Of course he had a daily regiment of activities and exercises that kept every muscle in his body toned and extremely fit. All the girls swooned over him; his physique challenged Hercules and Atlas. But there was something different about Timothy and the apostle Paul was the reason. You see; Paul led Timothy to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, trained him and set him over the church that they planted. Paul continued to instruct him through his letters and was assured that Timothy was sincere in his faith and love for his Savior. Timothy may have been the envy of all the young men striving for physical prowess and good looks, but little did they know that Timothy had something much, much more –he had God!
Peter tells us that God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and goodness. Godliness is simply letting God live His life through. It’s the righteousness that comes to us, not through following the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. Our faith in Jesus is simply expressed in the love that we have for Him. Therefore, as Jesus said, “If any man love me he will keep my commands.” This gives us the strength and stamina to live godly lives in this corrupt generation. In this world, people have turned things upside down and reversed priorities. They believe that if you feel good physically then you are strengthening your spirit. In other words: one can be strong spiritually if one is physically fit. Wrong! That is so contradictory of the Word of God and does absolutely nothing for our faith. It behooves us, as Christians, to set our priorities right and realize that godliness is better than physical well-being. I know that this sounds out of touch with the present paradigm within Christian circles and I realize that some may be saying that I am only speaking like this because of my own present physical problems, but I have believed this truth even while I was in my twenties and I was awake twenty-three hours a day! Brethren, don’t be fooled by the opinions of the multitude! Although physical well-being may be helpful in this life, godliness helps you not only in this life but in the life to come. And as far as that goes, I know that you’ll prefer to be fit for the life to come.
I wonder if Timothy was a fitness freak; you know, maybe he ran marathons and stuff like that. Maybe he got the guys together on a Saturday afternoon and had push-up contests or something. He ate asparagus (plain) and watched his red meat intake. He was probably in his twenties, six foot and two hundred pounds. He had biceps that he had nicknamed “his guns” and the strength to have them shoot bullets. His chest was proportioned to his big shoulders that he could bear most any weight. Of course he had a daily regiment of activities and exercises that kept every muscle in his body toned and extremely fit. All the girls swooned over him; his physique challenged Hercules and Atlas. But there was something different about Timothy and the apostle Paul was the reason. You see; Paul led Timothy to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, trained him and set him over the church that they planted. Paul continued to instruct him through his letters and was assured that Timothy was sincere in his faith and love for his Savior. Timothy may have been the envy of all the young men striving for physical prowess and good looks, but little did they know that Timothy had something much, much more –he had God!
Peter tells us that God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and goodness. Godliness is simply letting God live His life through. It’s the righteousness that comes to us, not through following the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. Our faith in Jesus is simply expressed in the love that we have for Him. Therefore, as Jesus said, “If any man love me he will keep my commands.” This gives us the strength and stamina to live godly lives in this corrupt generation. In this world, people have turned things upside down and reversed priorities. They believe that if you feel good physically then you are strengthening your spirit. In other words: one can be strong spiritually if one is physically fit. Wrong! That is so contradictory of the Word of God and does absolutely nothing for our faith. It behooves us, as Christians, to set our priorities right and realize that godliness is better than physical well-being. I know that this sounds out of touch with the present paradigm within Christian circles and I realize that some may be saying that I am only speaking like this because of my own present physical problems, but I have believed this truth even while I was in my twenties and I was awake twenty-three hours a day! Brethren, don’t be fooled by the opinions of the multitude! Although physical well-being may be helpful in this life, godliness helps you not only in this life but in the life to come. And as far as that goes, I know that you’ll prefer to be fit for the life to come.
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