My studio has shelves of books, some of which I’ve never read. Downstairs I have boxes of yarn that are still in the skeins. My quilting stash builds up in a spare room closet, and although I am making quilts, I wonder if I will live long enough to use all of it.
Last year and this I set goals to use what I have in storage as well as clear out the clutter and less-than-useful stuff in our house. In 1995 when my parents moved into a senior’s residence I had to do that with their home. It was difficult. While I don’t keep used envelopes and jars of string like my mother did, I don’t want my children to wonder someday what to do with my collections.
Spiritual clutter is easier to get rid of; confess sin as it happens and God takes care of it. However, today’s verse alerted me to another aspect of using what I have.
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:12, NKJV).
Lay hold on eternal life. I have it, a gift given to me in Christ. As the Bible says, “He who has Christ has life.” Today’s verse says to lay hold of that life, seize it, live it out, abandon old ways of doing things and move ahead living in the power of the eternal life Jesus gave me.
Ruts are easier traveling that striking out a new trail. Old habits are easier than starting the unfamiliar. As I get older, the idea of trying something new looms as a large challenge. Yet here it is—a large challenge. What does eternal life offer me that I’ve not yet tried?
Of course, obedience to this verse is up to the Lord. He may not ask me to climb spiritual mountains, or send me off to a foreign country as a missionary. He will probably not ask me to become a television evangelist or a gospel singer. He may ask only that I be faithful with what I’ve already been given, use up what I have. It is not a matter of “use it or lose it” but don’t simply store something with such great value!
Connected to laying hold of eternal life is confessing what I have in Christ to others. I’m thinking that those who talk about their faith are given more challenges than those who say little. God wants a verbal confession as well as a changed life. While I may never be a Billy Graham, I have noticed that since publishing a blog, my spiritual life has challenges never experienced before, challenges that require me to lay hold of that life that Jesus offers. My own life and skill sets are simply not up to it.
I often think that walking with Jesus is an adventure. Who knows what lies around the bend? Who knows what He will ask of me next? I just know that I must not retreat with excuses like “I’m too old” or “I’m too tired” and instead deal with any excess or clutter—so I am free to grab with gusto the opportunities He offers.
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