Daily Devotions
1 Timothy
"Pursue righteousness..."
Text: 1 Timothy 6:11
AN ACTIVE PURSUIT
The apostle Paul urged Timothy to pursue things of great spiritual significance if he wanted to prove himself to be an outstanding “man of God”.
“But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.”
1 Timothy 6:11
A SHORT LIST OF WORTHWHILE THINGS TO PURSUE
This list is by no means exhaustive. Nor does this list cover every aspect of life. Nevertheless the pursuit of these spiritual values will stand the man of God in good stead.
1. “Righteousness”
a) This commences with the believer being declared righteous because of his faith in Christ.
b) The challenge is to cultivate personal righteousness.
2. “Godliness”
a) This naturally flows from cultivating personal righteousness.
b) The righteous person leads a godly life.
3. “Faith”
a) We begin with basic faith in the Lord Jesus as our Saviour.
b) The challenge is to cultivate “a great faith”.
4. “Love”
a) The Lord Jesus encouraged the disciples to abide in His love.
b) They were challenged to practise this love among themselves.
c) The greatest of all gifts is love (1 Corinthians 13).
5. “Patience”
a) The element of “patience” is found in this word.
b) This word is often translated as “perseverance” in many other texts.
c) It describes a person who perseveres even if he is under great duress.
6. “Gentleness”
a) An essential aspect is “humility”.
b) The man of God expresses deep humility in being gentle towards people.
These noble traits ought to be pursued by all who desire to be “men of God!”