Today’s Bible Reading:
2 Kings 11-12; 2 Chronicles 24; 1 Timothy 6
Journal Entry on a passage from today’s reading:
Topic: Life
SCRIPTURE: 1 Timothy 6:17-19
17 Command
those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their
hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly
provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds,
and to be generous and willing to share. 19
In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for
the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1
Tim 6:17-19 NIV)
OBSERVATION:
Paul the Apostle offers
instruction to his protégé Timothy about how he should be teaching those under
his leadership. People need to realize what real life is—life in the “coming age” and life in the here and
now. They are not separate; how we live today affects how we will live in
eternity. Whether rich or poor, if all our hope is in pursuit of our own
comfort “in this present world,” we
will only be living life. But to live “life
that is truly life,” we must live today in a way that carries over into the
life that is to come. It is easier for poor people who have very little to hope
for a better life in the age to come. But those who are blessed with wealth can
become so absorbed with the pleasures and comforts of life, that they miss the
hope of true life. Paul says to teach them—command them—to put their hope in
God; to do good with their wealth; to be generous and share their wealth, and
so “lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age,
so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
APPLICATION:
There are so many people who have
no concept of life other than this earthly life. Billions of people have been
born, lived and died in the history of Earth. The truth is that being born does
not mean that one has life. Jesus said, to really have life, one must be born
again. To miss out on that step is to become a miscarriage, lost before full
gestation has occurred, and to have never known life that is truly life. Dissenters will bemoan God condemning
people to death, but to have never accepted the gift of life He offers is to
have chosen the opposite of life by default. Because I do care about other
human beings gestating on this planet with me, I want to be an influence for
making this truth known.
PRAYER:
Lord, I pray for my human family. Thank
You for the enlightenment of truth that has become known to many of us. Help me
and other believers effectively share that loving truth with those who have not
yet come to realize it.
By the love of the Father, the
sacrifice of the Son, and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Amen. -AP
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