1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

Sometimes the Bible uses military imagery for the Christian life, but that is not the kind of “fight” Paul has in mind here. This isn’t two guys slugging it out because they don’t like each other, either. This is “fight” like we fight the other side in an athletic contest. It is competing the good competition of the faith. It is contending for the prize.  Living out our Christian faith is never an easy thing we can coast through passively if we want to make it to the finish line. There is a struggle, something that takes intense effort and makes you sweat.

And the whole Christian team wants to win. There will always be competing forces proposing alternative ideas about God, promoting other ways of salvation, suggesting other standards of right and wrong. We struggle, we contend, to push the Christian faith forward, to advance it and defend it. We fight this fight door to door when we canvass in our neighborhoods. We fight this fight in Sunday School rooms and Bible classes. It’s not a violent attack. On the outside it might look quiet and gentle. But there is a strenuous push of ideas and teachings and beliefs moving Christian faith forward, into more and more hearts that believe, and overcoming the darkness of unbelief.

What are we fighting for? “Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

Instead of loving money, which is all about your life here, take hold of eternal life. The idea is not that we have to go out and get eternal life ourselves. Everything Paul writes everywhere makes it clear that eternal life is God’s gift, purchased for us by Jesus when he paid for our sins at the cross, brought to us by his word and sealed for us in our baptisms. Timothy’s own baptism seems to be what Paul has in mind when he refers to Timothy’s good confession. There, Timothy was already called to eternal life. There he already had received it by faith.

Now he is urging Timothy, and us, not to let it slip through our fingers. Don’t take it for granted. Don’t let competing interests like money or earthly success, get in the way. This is no small gift to lose. When my wife and I visited Rome a few years ago, I kept my wallet in my front pocket, or in a belt underneath my shirt. The city had a reputation for pick-pockets. My hand often went to my pocket or my belt to make sure everything was still there, especially in crowded quarters. I didn’t want to suffer the fate of other tourists who lost their money, credit cards, and passports.

The “pocket” in which eternal life sits is the faith in your heart. Keep it strong. Check it often. Protect it from thieves. Tend to your faith and take hold of eternal life by living in God’s word.