December 6, 2017 THE PURSUIT
1 Timothy 6:11: “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”
Proverbs 11:19: “He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life, and He who pursues evil will bring about his own death.”
The choice is clear. What we are pursuing in life has monumental consequences to say the least. At the risk of sounding over-simplified, we have only two choices of what we can pursue in life. Either we are pursuing God and the life that comes from knowing Him, or we are pursuing our own desires apart from God-selfish desires. Even though some who do not know God may do good deeds for their fellow man, but their actions or nonetheless based on self as their good deeds causes them to feel good about themselves. It is impossible to know the motives of another’s heart-why he does what he does-but the motivation of the heart is the critical issue. Two people may be pursing the same thing and yet for one it is a work of righteousness that pleases God, and for the other, it is a selfish act, or a work of the flesh, that has nothing to do with God. The amazing thing is that when God is the pursuit of our heart, we can bring honor to Him in all that we do and our actions can be righteous. The key is, just as Paul instructed Timothy, that we actively pursue certain things – righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. It’s refreshingly simple-we can actually pursue-begin to practice these things now! The scriptures above, and many others, serve as a warning to believers. It is very possible for a believer to find a disconnect in what he is pursuing and having a pursuit that is energized by what God has called him to pursue. One, who is a believer, may be pursuing a promotion at his place of employment, or whatever pursuit, but that pursuit should flow out of his relationship with the Lord. Colossians 3:23 is a familiar verse to many and it is a verse that speaks to the motivation of the heart: “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for man.” We need to consciously realize that ‘whatever’-means whatever! It is liberating to learn that we can do whatever we do “as for the Lord.” It is not that we have to get God’s direction for every action we take, but God is saying that as we go about our life and as we are about our activities, whatever we do, should be done in a way that pleases the Lord, and that others could see in us a resemblance to Jesus. Obviously, this does not mean that what we do does not matter; there are some things that we must not do because it would not be pleasing to the Lord. Again, the good news is that we can start this very moment pursuing the very things Paul instructed Timothy to pursue-righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. The instructions we find in scripture are not intended just for good reading or something to think about, nor are they suggestions; the scriptures come from the heart of God to His people and they are given for our good and they reveal, and are in keeping with, our new nature. May we examine the motives and desires of our heart, and make sure that we are pursuing the right things with the right motive-that of honoring Him in all we do. “
Proverbs 21:21: “Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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