by Greg Tidwell

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:12, ESV)

God has called us both to a life of peace and to a life of conflict. This paradox exists because of the difficulties of the sinful world in which we live.

In a perfect world, the way God intended the world to be, there would be no conflict; there would be only peace.

Such a state of perfect harmony has not existed since Eden and will not exist again until we enter the world to come. In this life there will always be conflict.

The Apostle Paul instructs the young evangelist to "fight the good fight of the faith." He does not in this passage identify against what we are fighting, but clearly he is describing the great struggle against the forces of Satan.

The lines of battle are drawn on many fronts, in the lives of individuals dealing with despair, in families feeling the pressures of the secular world, in congregations grappling with remaining faithful against the tide of apostasy. In literally every area of life we are called to engage the forces of darkness and to fight the good fight.

While our struggle against Satan takes many forms, the conflict on a personal level comes down to one thing: remain faithful to the gospel of Christ. It was this gospel which provides us with eternal life, and which forms the substance of "the good confession." Paul instructs Timothy to take hold of this truth in order to fight the good fight.

Daily, in whatever form our struggle with evil may take, we must return to the one source of spiritual power. We must continually look to Jesus, for only in faith can we find victory.