Faith Training

As followers of Christ, we are to train ourselves in godliness. An inactive, sedentary Christian is an unhealthy Christian, implies Paul as he urges Timothy to train himself to be Christ-like and teach the brethren of the Church to do the same. How do we go about training spiritually to be good followers of our Lord?

We can take some clues from Paul’s direction. In his letter to Timothy, he likens spiritual training to physical training. Our spiritual development as Christians is affected by what we take in and what we expend. We must be nourished by the words of faith and good teaching of Christ. A good spiritual diet of God’s Truth through daily reading and study ensures our spiritual health. We must also refrain from “irreverent and silly myths,” junk that does not lend itself to godliness. As Christians, it is important to also exercise our faith in our daily life through prayer, reflection on Scripture, and interactions with others. This must done as diligently as regular exercise in order to be effective. We must “labor and strive” for our faith, committed to the goal of becoming more spiritually developed for the glory of God. All of these things ensure a healthy spiritual life and result in a growing faith that God develops within us.