Fight the Good Fight

2 Timothy 4:7 (AMP)

“I have fought the good and worthy and noble fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith [firmly guarding the gospel against error].“

I love Paul’s analogies in his writing. I love his use of the body as a metaphor for the church. I love the idea of the Christian life as a race to be run or as a fight to be fought. Paul used common everyday things that his readers would relate to to encourage his brothers and sisters in Christ. The entire Roman world was familiar with the Olympic Games. They knew the training and de, dication it took to be an elite athlete in those events. They knew the grueling discipline and passion you had to possess to be successful.

In the ancient games, boxing was a sport of endurance and honor. There were no weight classes, no time limits, and no real rules. Opponents were chosen by drawing straws. A famous boxer from the games in 45 AD, Melankomas of Caria, was said to have fought for two days straight without lowering his guard. He was famous for refusing to strike his opponents and for dodging their punches. He became champion by waiting out his opponent, avoiding their strikes until they dropped from shear exhaustion. No doubt, Paul was familiar with this contender.

So here Paul is writing Timothy at the end of his life. He is imprisoned in a dungeon, and he knows that he does not have long, so he passes the torch to Timothy. Paul has outlasted his opponent, the devil. He has endured. He has trained himself. He has refused to give up. He has fought with honor. He has protected the gospel from corruption and spoken out when others would seek to add religious requirements to the plain and simple truth of the message of Christ.

That’s the goal for all of us. How are you running your race? How are you fighting the good and noble and worthy fight? Are you in strict training? Are you disciplining yourself with prayer, fasting, and studying the Bible? Are you keeping yourself in fighting order by putting on your armor and abiding in Christ? Are you enduring to the end, dodging the enemy’s attempts to strike you? Are you holding firm to the faith, to the plain and simple truth of the gospel message? There’s no better time to start.

Father, I thank you for the purity and simplicity of the gospel message. There is nothing I could do to earn your favor. There is nothing I could do to earn your forgiveness or your love. Thankfully, Father, you provided a way for me to be forgiven because of your great love for me. You provided grace. Thank you for grace. Thank you for forgiveness. Thank you for favor. Help me to run the race with discipline and dedication. Help me to fight the good fight, avoiding the enemy’s strikes and enduring to the very end. In Jesus’ name, Amen.