Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.
I Timothy 4:7-9
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Our lives are defined, ultimately, by what we choose to pursue.
Consider the fact that what we desire most influences everything about us:
-It affects how we spend our time, our money, our energy.
-It provides motivation for the day.
-It consumes our thinking.
-It charts our course for the future.
-It shows up in our goal-setting.
-It defines our view of success.
And so, if I were to ask you today, what is it in life you are most pursuing, what might you say?
Or better yet, maybe I should change the question. If I were to ask the person closest to you (spouse, child, friend) what you are most pursuing in your life, what would he or she say?
Many times, dare I say, the answer to that question is worldly in nature. Rarely, is the answer: My greatest pursuit is God.
Instead, our relationship with God often gets relegated to the back of our minds. Or, maybe I were to become more specific, I might say it like this:
We often become passive in our pursuit of God. As if, our spiritual growth is just going to happen without specific investment or pursuit of it.
We’d like to grow closer to God, but it’s not something we passionately pursue.
Because when we are truly passionate about something, it always shows up in our life:
If we want to excel in athletics, we train and practice and watch and read and listen to coaches.
If we want to excel in our career, we study and observe and intern and read and devote ourselves to the craft.
If we want to excel in parenting, we commit ourselves to it day-in and day-out, from sun up to sun down.
Music, theater, hunting, painting, writing, … the approach holds true. If we want to excel in any field, in any pursuit, we devote ourselves to it with reckless abandon. And only then, do we begin to excel.
But spirituality? For some reason, we apply far less discipline.
We show up on Sunday mornings. We attend a small group whenever we don’t have something else going on that week. We turn on Christian radio. We pray before meals or in times of clear need.
But rather than intentionally pursuing intense spiritual growth, we take an almost entirely passive role—whatever the preacher wants to talk about, whatever song is on the radio, whatever our small group leader has prepared, or whatever the writer of our devotional just happened to write down on any given day.
This becomes the extent of our spiritual growth. And then we wonder why we find very little joy or fulfillment in our relationship with God.
Spiritual growth does not happen by accident. It is a result of intentional pursuit, a cooperation with God. A passion to know Him and be conformed to the image of His Son.
May He become our greatest pursuit and may our lives be defined by it.
Not only will we benefit, but our families and the entire world as well.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, may my first love and pursuit always be you. Help me to love you and follow you with passion and discipline so that I can be conformed to the image of your Son and complete the good work you have prepared in advance for me. Amen.