Our 87th Word is Fight
The definition of fight is to struggle and strain for victory.
“Fight the good fight of the faith.” (1 Timothy 6:12)
Obviously, we knew we had to bring our A-game tonight and give 110 percent. Our backs were to the wall, it was win or go home, you know? So when we got down early, we just kept saying: if we stay focused, keep grinding, and leave it all on the field, good things will happen. Sure enough, we came out with the win.
How can we not be amused when athletes get utterly lost in Cliche Land? Underneath the avalanche of platitudes, we know what they’re saying. Success in sports, really, in any endeavor, requires an all out effort.
Paul, in a wise letter to his young protege, Timothy, said the same thing: “Fight the good fight of the faith.”
We get our English words agony and agonizing from agon, the Greek word translated “fight” in this verse. The idea, familiar to any athlete and every soldier, is one of struggle and strain. It’s the idea of exerting one’s self, with every fiber of one’s being. As corny as it sounds, it is the idea of leaving it all on the field, or the battlefield. Because Christ promised His followers supernatural peace and joy, it’s easy to assume that faith in Jesus leads to an easy life where we get to, metaphorically speaking, kick back and sip drinks with little umbrellas in them.
In truth, the spiritual life described in the New Testament is less like a commercial for a Caribbean beach resort and more like the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan.
Why? Why is the life of faith such a violent battle? Because we have an enemy who never takes a day off and who comes at us from every angle. Some days it’s like trench warfare of the soul just trying to cling to faith. Other times we have to engage in hand-to-hand combat with our own balky hearts just to take small steps of faith. Add fierce ambushes from a hostile culture. Throw in the fact that many attempts to gently share our faith are met with withering counterattacks.
It’s fight all right.
General William T. Sherman, of Civil War fame, was right: “War is hell.” Which means fighting is never “fun.” Notice, however, that Paul calls the fight of faith “good.”
It’s good to put on God’s armor and engage in the all-important battle for souls, your own as well as the souls of those God has put around you.
As you do, it’s also good to have a battalion of like-minded allies fighting and agonizing next to you. Do you have that? Find some people who will encourage you to stay focused, keep grinding, and leave it all on the battlefield.
Questions to Ponder
- In what specific ways have you experienced the truth that the spiritual life is a fight?
- What are the weapons and resources God gives to help us be victorious?
No Thought Police 