April 6
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THE PRIZE OF GODLY TRAINING
6 In pointing out these things to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have been following. 7 But stay away from worthless stories that are typical of old women. Rather, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; 8 for bodily training is just slightly beneficial, but godliness is beneficial for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers. – 1 Timothy 4:6-10
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In this letter Paul is reminding Timothy to tell the leaders in the church to ensure that they are always feeding on God’s words and ingesting good doctrine. He commends them of their progress with their faith but in verse 7, Paul warns them to stay away from useless tales usually spread by women.
Paul advises them to focus on their training for godliness. Since the Greeks were so focused on physical training for competitions, Paul reminds them that it is only useful for their lives here on earth while training in godliness will benefit them even in their eternal lives. While physical training may be good for their bodies, spiritual workout is far more beneficial because it prepares the mind, body, soul, spirit for the reward of heaven and the forever life.
Paul also instructs Timothy to let the believers do their best to continue to hope for the living God who has promised them eternal life. As they press on to continue to serve the Lord, they will reap the promises of Jesus to all those who would seek and abide in Him.
This may have been written a long time ago, it still holds true to all of us believers in Jesus. This is a great reminder for all believers that we should not get tired of doing good and keeping pure and holy for the Lord. There is a room reserved for all the saints who keep on fixing their eyes on Jesus.
Sadly, so many believers have taken away their eyes on their Master and have allowed worldly concerns to distract them from the bigger prize of being with Jesus in eternity.
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REFLECTION
• Why do so many people give more emphasis on bodily training rather than on their spiritual building up?