I mentioned last time about doing physical therapy, and I wanted to follow up with what I’m learning. First, have you ever done physical therapy? For years I’ve heard of (mostly older) folks going for therapy on their shoulder, hip, knee, you name it. I did not understand the pain in this process until now! You go to the office, and the nicest people smile while they torture you in the area you’ve been hurting most.
But I’m finding the old adage, “no pain, no gain” is absolutely true. The difficult exercises I’ve been doing are helping to improve the weakness and pain I’m trying to fix. I had been exercising, but not in the right ways.
I wonder if young Timothy in the Bible liked to exercise. Timothy grew up in the first century A.D., when just like us, they liked their sports. No mention is made of Timothy participating in the Olympic or Isthmian games, but maybe he enjoyed local sports or simply working out on his own. Whatever the case, his mentor, the Apostle Paul, put things into perspective. He said, “train yourself for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7).
In other words, put time and discipline into becoming more like God. Which I take to mean being holy and loving people. With exercise in mind, Paul continues, “for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
It’s a good idea to exercise and be physically healthy but being more like God brings blessings now and in the eternal future. God gives us grace to be all He wants us to be (1 Corinthians 15:10), and we’ll need that grace to get off the spiritual couch for training.
Comments or questions? Email Pastor Jeff: jeffgwilt@gmail.com
