The realization hit me as I read these verses: we can train ourselves, or at least be trained to be godly. Christians often say it is a life long journey and this is true. But we often forget it is a journey of intention and effort. We can't expect to just live 70-80 years and arrive at a more godly state. We must seek it.
This training can take on many forms. The establishment of new habit patterns by repeating the desired behavior or attitudes over and over again until they become part of our nature. The more subtle form of godly training is yielding more and more of ourselves to the Holy Spirit and allow His fruit to grow in us. As Romans 12 says, our we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds - even our minds can be trained to think differently. We were just talking about this in my Life Group, that we do not have to accept that the way we react to situations is something we are stuck with. We can by the power of the Spirit be trained to respond differently.
Imagine, today we get frustrated and angry because of bad traffic. Tomorrow, we can remain calm and realize that getting angry does not change how quickly we will get to our destination. Today we may respond angrily to our child who disobeys for the umpteenth time, tomorrow, we may be able to sit down with our child and explain yet again why that behavior is not acceptable and calmly impose the appropriate consequences.
It can be discouraging when we are disappointed in how we respond to various things in life, but I am encouraged by the prospect of being transformed more and more into His likeness (2 Cor 3:18) through the training in godliness. I think of how a Bonzai artist trains their plants to grow in certain shapes and patterns. The artist uses carefully planned pruning and applied pressure to get rid of what is not wanted and to direct the path of the branches. God uses similar tools to train us in holy living.
The other realization in this passage in Timothy is that training ourselves to be godly is not just something necessary for our eternal destiny in His kingdom, but it pays dividends today. As I described above, the way we experience life can be so different than how we experience it today. We can have more affect and influence on others by the testimony of our changed life. So I encourage you - begin your training program today!
