“…take hold of the life that is truly life.”
I Timothy 6:19
Paul wrote these words to Timothy — the young man he called “my true son in the faith” (I Timothy 1:2). Timothy received not one, but two letters from Paul, perhaps demonstrating not only the depth of the relationship, but awareness of the weight of the baton Paul was passing.
Though written specifically to Timothy, you and I — together with Bible readers for twenty centuries — are privileged to glean from the wisdom passed from a spiritual father to a spiritual son.
Father’s Day seems a good day to embrace these wise words.
What I tend to believe about wisdom is this: life will bring it. Living brings learning. That’s the natural, long-route way to arrive at wisdom. But those who are teachable get to take a shortcut. The ones willing to heed the sage advice of those who have traveled the road ahead of them, can benefit tremendously. They have joy in the journey, they take the best route, and they avoid many of the detours and pitfalls that life often brings.
The phrase, “the life that is truly life,” resonates perhaps even better to a 21st-century audience than a first-century one. Our society has become consumed with stuff — we accumulate toys, we buy clothes we seldom wear, we are driven to replace what we have with the latest version, model, or color. After a while, the stuff we own seems to own us!
Are we individually and collectively chasing the counterfeit instead of the real?
Are we permitting the temporary to trump the eternal?
In this verse, Paul is wrapping up a teaching about riches and wealth where he encouraged a choice to “be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” This type of investment reaps dividends for eternity.
Even the minimalists and the most frugal among us can get caught up in the consumer mentality. When we say “no” to ourselves, we loosen the consumer grip. Releasing our grip on stuff frees us our hands (and hearts) to “take hold of the life that is truly life.”
What are we holding on to? What is most valuable to us? The prodigals we love may be chasing the next raise, the bigger house, or the newer car. They may be seeking acceptance and approval from friends (or strangers), or investing in nothing more than the fleeting pleasures of the moment. As we pray for an eternal mindset for them, we can pray also for ourselves — that we would model richness in good needs, a spirit of generosity, and a willingness to share the abundant blessings that God has given us.
Are you and I holding on tight to that which will last? Are we releasing the manufactured / counterfeit / temporary life for the eternal “life that is truly life”? Would you make some time on this Father’s Day to consider Paul’s wise counsel to his “son” Timothy … and to ask your own Heavenly Father, “What do I need to release, so that I can grab hold of real life?”
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