Spiritual Muscles
Most boys and many girls see body builders and admire the wash board abs and ripped physique and desire it. Most young boys spend time flexing in the mirror when no one is looking desiring to be buff but most do not spend the time and effort required to get there. 1 Timothy 4:8 says: "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come."
The things of God are the most important things in our lives, this physical existence is very short and temporary, but the spiritual things are eternal. In the Old Testament God often had harsher penalties for people who led others away from Him than for general crimes against one another. If things of the Spirit are so important we ought to spend the time building our spiritual strength for our benefit and for the benefit of others.
In Ephesians 6:10 we are exhorted to "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." Notice we are not told to be strong in our own might but in His might. We have access to his might and can learn to use it. We are told this because, as verse 12 says our greatest battles on this earth are not of a fleshly nature but rather against "spiritual hosts of wickedness".
Just as any weight training goes, we do not start with large amounts of weight on the bar but rather appropriate amount and as we grow stronger we add more weight. We do this spiritual training in three areas:
1. Learning the word. The word of God, according to 2 Timothy 3:16 "is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." Studying the word is key to building our spiritual muscles.
2. Stand up for what you believe and resist sin. This can be difficult in our current world where evil has become good and good has become evil and there is great opposition. This can be especially difficult for someone with small spiritual muscles. We can build this muscle in a couple ways, start with less controversial issues, and work up to the bigger ones, learn what the Biblical arguments are for each issue and practice them. Challenge a fellow Christian and practice on them. We can also use them in an online setting which is less threatening. This helps to hone your responses and be prepared to defend the Biblical position in any situation. If we cannot stand against the pressures we currently face how do we expect to stand in the face of greater persecution and even against the anti-christ and the mark of the beast. We must train well in advance and cannot expect to be instantly strong when we face adversity.
3. Learn to share the truth with others. This is what Jesus commanded us before He left this earth. Knowing the word and good reasons to justify what you believe helps you have confidence that what you believe is true. Again start small and work your way up. This could be different for each person but it's good to move out of our comfort zones in this area. The stronger your spiritual muscles get the easier it is and the more effective you will be.
If our spiritual fitness was visible to the human eye I would desire to have abs of godliness and biceps bulging with righteousness ready to fight the good fight. We must train to use Gods might which is available for us to face the hard times in life.
~ Ryan Thiessen ~