“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12, ESV)
Fighting isn’t easy; if it was, it wouldn’t be called a fight. The Christian life is a fight, against cultural currents such as materialism, against my own sinful tendencies such as pursuing comfort, against the sin of others, which call for a gracious and forgiving attitude. Quite honestly fighting can be agonizing. In fact, the Greek word for fight here isagonizomai from which we get our word agonize.
The Christian life is a life-long marathon. At times it is agonizing, but Paul reminds Timothy and us of a couple things that will strengthen us in adversity. First, Paul reminds us that we are called. God has called us to run the race and fight the fight. God’s call always comes with God’s enabling. Notice I said ‘enabling’ not ‘easing’. The fight doesn’t become easy, but rather becomes possible. Are you finding it hard to live for Christ running uphill in a downhill world? Jesus promises to be your strength. We don’t simply live for Christ, we live through Christ.
Second, the fight is a good fight. We see fights in life that are good. A friend of ours is fighting cancer. Couples fight for their marriage. The Allied Forces fought against Nazi domination in World War II. The fight of faith is a good fight, a worthy fight, and ultimately a victorious fight. Often the temptation to give up takes hold when we lose sight of this. Our run slows to a walk. Our walk turns to a stand. Our standing fades to being carried by the downhill current.
How do we run with endurance? How do we fight with perseverance? Remember Jesus, who called you to join with him. If agonizing for the faith is part of the call, be sure that when the fight is won, consolation will be part of the reward. The fight won’t be easy, but it is worthy of our every stride, our every punch, our every breath, because it ultimately brings glory to him who fought your fight against sin for you, conquering it on the cross.
