Pursuit

I was struck by this verse earlier this week while studying 2 Timothy with my team. It's been stuck in my head and kind of rocked my world, so I thought I'd whip this blog back out and share my two cents worth. :)

"So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." - 2 Timothy 2:22

For me, fleeing is the easy part. There are definitely some things that are harder to flee than others, but when a bear is chasing you, you run. Not much motivation is required. So it is with sin in the Christian walk. 

The second command, on the other hand, is much more difficult for me. Righteousness, faith, love, and peace all sound wonderful. I want that, but I can't just walk up and take it. There's a lovely little verb stuck in the middle that makes me stop in my tracks: Pursue.

Pursuing is not something that I can sit back and watch. It's not a knee-jerk reaction like fleeing a bear. It's a tough verb. It requires dedication, motivation, and a strong desire to have what's at the end of the chase. The free online dictionary (oh what glorious technology) tells some pretty great definitions of pursue:

1. To follow in an effort to overtake or capture; chase (righteousness, faith, love, and peace)
2. To strive to gain or accomplish (righteousness, faith, love, and peace)
3. To proceed along the course of; follow (righteousness, faith, love, and peace)
4. To carry further; advance (righteousness, faith, love, and peace)
5. To be engaged in (righteousness, faith, love, and peace)

This is what we are to be doing and it all requires some serious action on my part. I'm failing miserably at it, thinking it will all just magically come to me as I'm busy fleeing my bears. I can run away all I want, but if I'm not headed in a direction that will actually save me the chase is destined to end in my defeat.

As Christmastime rolls around I am reminded how how blessed I am to serve a God that has been pursuing me before I even acknowledged him. And I'm humbled by the fact that his love never dwindles for me day after day as I'm busy pursuing other things. I don't have much to give the Lord. I have nothing, really. But I do have me. And I can devote my time and energy into pursuing what he has for me rather than spending it on myself.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. :)