What do you think it means to “fight the good fight?” I used to think it meant a lot of proselytizing and speaking out for the faith. I needed to take a stand, face derision for my beliefs, hold the line, and be bold for Jesus. Wrong.
I Timothy 6:11-12a
But you, man [woman] of God, flee from all this [the love of money], and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.
To fight the good fight, it’s an interior struggle; it’s learning to choose, in the moment, the right way, the honest way, a choice that may not be “best” for me. It’s about experiencing God in such a way that I am awake to the Holy Spirit and respond to people and situations as the Christ would. It’s about believing in the truth of the Presence. It’s all real and true and does make a difference inside me. I am different because of that Presence. It’s love. And that’s the most difficult of all because it’s love in the face of all things, it’s love so strong that one’s heart is visible, it’s love so authentic that is can tolerate rejection and hatred and betrayal. That’s why endurance is part of the package. That’s the fight part. Keeping on. And then, the last: gentleness. What? Gentleness? How do we do this long-suffering battle with gentleness?
It would take everything in me to test to truth of these words. And that’s the point.
I need to be gentle with myself. It’s a journey. It’s a war to become . . . to really give it all away (those old ways, not just the stuff) and follow the Christ.
Our God is so amazing! Just today, I finished the banner for the men’s spring Walk To Emmaus retreat, coming up next week. The theme is “Fight The Good Fight”. I knew this assignment had my name on it, when the invitation was presented to me in October, as this is very meaningful to me. As I sat at Buck’s graveside, his brother knelt down behind me and told me Buck came to him in a dream during his hospitalization and said, “I fought the good fight”! As I planned the design and worked on the banner, the Lord brought those scriptures to my attention many times. I contemplated just what fighting the good fight means for me personally. What I learned was that we are in a daily battle as Christ followers and we need to depend on the weapon of God’s Word and our shield of faith to survive; especially the battle that takes place in our minds. The enemy of our souls is never far and is always busy trying to destroy us. Thankfully, our Deliverer has already won the war and our foe is already defeated! I loved your perspective. It helped me as I try to personalize what fighting the good fight should look like in my life. Thank you!
Thank you R. I really appreciate your story. It confirms and expands my understanding as well. Please take a picture of the banner. I’d love to see it after it’s been gifted to the weekend. IB
You and I think a lot alike. Thank you so much for these meditations! A lot of difficult situations are occurring right now, in my life and in the lives of people I love. Your post encourages me to endure and fight the good fight. :0)
Jane
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