1 Timothy 6:11-19

“Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” vs. 12

When believers move into the “golden” years and think about the generations following them, those beginning their careers or the ones just starting families, sometimes they can’t help but give advice. They know they won’t always be listened to, but they can’t help but say the words, and as words go, there are probably none better than these received by Timothy. “Fight the good fight of the faith!” It isn’t easy to be a believer for a lifetime, and there are countless times when we have to battle to hang on to whatever thin shred of faith that we might have left. So many enemies are there to snatch it away: despair, affluence, lust, depression, the list could go on and on. Sometimes it seems a bother to maintain the disciplines of the faith life, things like prayer and worship and study. And often young people wander away from the faith community…and then don’t bother to bring up their children as believers. And so older folks keep on worrying and praying and sometimes even lapse into nagging. Faith is just that important! They want all their descendents to know and hang on to the great gift of eternal life that is a part of their calling now and forever.

Thought for the Day: How effective is nagging in passing on faith? What works best?