"Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call upon the Lord with a pure hear." 2 Timothy 2:22
"Flee also youthful lusts . . ."
Lust is a problem all over the world. In American culture, however, it runs especially rampant. Pornography is just a couple of clicks away on the internet, provocatively dressed women can be found on nearly every channel on television, scantily clad people "grace" the covers of the magazines that line the racks at the supermarkets, etc. etc. etc. Lust isn't something that should be taken lightly. It can lead to greater sins. How many times have things started with looking, then desiring, then touching, then taking, then consuming? Do not only turn from youthful lusts, FLEE them. Run from them with all that is in you. Do not take it lightly. All sin must be taken seriously. Do not take a casual approach to this sin. Flee it! Do what ever it takes to avoid it. Whether it's getting rid of the internet, television, avoiding certain stores, or getting an accountability partner, DO IT. Think not that you can just dabble with sin. Not only is that wrong, but it is dangerous. Lust is a deadly sin. I have seen families torn apart, limb by limb, through the sin of pornography, men driven almost insane because they are caught in the grip of addiction. Stay away, avoid, and flee. Be active in fighting sin.
"But pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call upon the Lord with a pure heart."
So often, it is a temptation to fall into "passive" faith--to be content where I am, to think that all I need to do is pray, read my Bible, and "be good." While those things ARE necessary and vital to the Christian walk, I was truly convicted when I read this verse. Pursue righteousness, pursue faith, love, and peace . . . the word "pursue" is an action verb. It doesn't say "Sit back, relax, and God will bless you with these things." It says pursue. Let's think about that word for a minute. What are some examples using the word? "The policemen are in hot pursuit of the murderer." Okay, wow. They are CHASING him with diligence and passion so that they can bring him to justice. "John is pursuing a law degree." Is he sitting on his sofa just waiting for it to fall into his lap? No, he's working HARD to earn it. "Bob is pursuing my best friend because he wants to win her heart." How about this guy? Is he passively just hanging with around, or is he going after the desired prize with all he has? If he wants it, he's got to really turn it on. My point is, in all of these examples, there is active, dedicated, passionate pursuit of the thing being sought, and that to pursue is something that requires great and constant effort. Therefore, how does this apply to running the Christian race? We cannot just wait around for holiness to find us, we must seek after it diligently. This past weekend, I attended the New Attitude conference in Louisville, KY. John Piper was one of the speakers, and, while both of his messages were excellent, something really stuck out to me. He compared sanctification to swimming upstream in a river. Basically, the river is our sin--vile, foul, and reeking, and we are trying to swim against the strong rapids of our sin toward holiness. If we stop swimming, we don't just stay where we stopped, we get pushed farther and farther back into sin and away from holiness. This really struck me. If we stop pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace, then we will not just sit around chilling until we've rested, we will be pushed farther and farther away, and we will have to fight even harder to return to the place where we left off. Push on, run on, and continue on and do not stop. Not only will it sanctify us and help us to grow in our Christian life, but it also will mean that we are obeying the command of God. Pursue. A statement. An order. A command. Not pursuing or stopping pursuit is not an option. Obey the command and be blessed.
1 comment:
Amen.
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