Pursue!

Monday, December 14, 2009 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments

1 Tim. 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Paul exhorted Timothy, and us, to fight the good fight of faith. He gave the reason when he stated, “Lay hold on eternal life.” This is not a call to salvation. It is a call to vitality, victory and vision.

Vitality because the life of God is the true power behind everything we do.
Victory because are calling will be witnessed by many people
Vision because we walk by faith, not by sight.

When I read the words “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life,” a single word comes to my mind: PURSUE

There must come a time when we cease to struggle in pursuit of the things of this world and began to pursue the life and purpose of the Lord.

Romans 14:19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

When people live in the kingdom of this world, their pursuits are driven by worldly needs and appetites. When people live in the kingdom of God their pursuits are driven by the purposes of God and the character of Christ.

Romans 14 offers a very different perspective from Old Testament days. Rather than pursuing enemies in order to destroy them, the text states that we should pursue things that make for peace. We also should be focused on building up one eanother.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

In first Thessalonians we begin to see the contrast between the old order and the new order. In the old order people rendered evil for evil, and sought to bring retribution. In the new order we pursue peace and a good outcome for ourselves and for others. In other words, we are seeking a win-win proposition, not win-lose, lose-win, or lose-lose.