“But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the true faith.” 1 Timothy 6:11-12
Paul is writing to a pastor here. A pastor who is contending for the faith in a challenging and persecuted area. Pastor Timothy is living on the mission field, leading other Christians, exemplifying a very committed and dedicated Christian life. And yet, Paul tells him to pursue a righteousness and a godly life. He exhorts Him to pursue faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. He urges Him to fight the good fight for the true faith.
I think one obvious objection might be, isn’t Timothy already doing this? Isn’t He demonstrating that He is pursuing a godly and righteous life? After all, how many of us are sticking our neck out there like Timothy is, risking death for sharing Christ?
To me this sends a clear message. The Christian life is not a stagnant process. It is not a pray a prayer for salvation and then go back to life as normal kind of a deal. It is not even a pastor a church and consider yourself graduated kind of a deal. It is an ongoing fight. It is a pursuit. It is an I’m a man of God, but God isn’t done with me yet kind of a life. It is an I’m living a righteous and loving life but there are still more ways I can grow in this kind of a life.
Becoming a Christian isn’t the finish line, it’s the starting blocks. You can be a man or woman of God, but this side of heaven, you aren’t done yet. Keep pursuing righteousness. Keep fighting for deeper faith. Keep crying out for more Christlike love. Keep pressing on. Being a man or woman of God doesn’t make our actions complete. It means we will take certain actions going forward.