“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress<\/em>” (I Timothy 4:12-15 ESV).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The standard that Paul set for the young disciple, Timothy, wasn’t perfection; it was perseverance. “Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.<\/em>“<\/p>\n It is a training regimen that he provides. He includes both personal and public practices as part of the training. It’s a mindset Paul had stated earlier: “train yourself for godliness; 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<\/em>” (I Timothy 4:7-8).<\/p>\n If we expect perfection, we fall short. But if we persevere at making genuine progress, letting God work on us as long as it takes, good things happen. We won’t ever arrive at perfection this side of heaven, but we are growing and moving forward. God delights in such progress.<\/p>\n Like Timothy, we haven’t yet finished our race, so today is another opportunity to persevere. Following Jesus is the ultimate marathon. The more we incorporate the reality of spiritual endurance in our lives, the more we will find ourselves successfully approaching the finish line.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Ken Green “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[56,917],"class_list":["post-28271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-perfection","tag-persistence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35973,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/not-too-young\/","url_meta":{"origin":28271,"position":0},"title":"Not Too Young","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Author Unknown Recent research has revealed what teenagers truly desire from the adults in their lives. The Search Institute study found that teens want parents and other older influencers to do the following: Look at us. Spend time talking with us. Listen. Be dependable. Show appreciation for what we do.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/teens-talking-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":37888,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-a-good-minister\/","url_meta":{"origin":28271,"position":1},"title":"What Is a Good Minister?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant adapted from an article by Ken Weliever \"He's a good preacher,\" is often used to describe various gospel preachers. But what makes a good preacher? How would you define one? Is he a great orator? Can he captivate the audience? Does he preach soothing words? Can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66872,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/study-to-show-yourself-approved\/","url_meta":{"origin":28271,"position":2},"title":"Study to Show Yourself Approved","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hugh Fulford \"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth\" (II Timothy 2:15 KJV). The preceding verse as cited from the King James Version of the Bible has been what I sometimes refer to as an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":542,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":28271,"position":3},"title":"Preachers (Article)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Among the duties or roles within the church listed in Ephesians 4:11-12 is the work of the evangelist. The word is translated from a Greek word which referred to a person who brought joyous news of victory from the battlefront. When the same word is used\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58557,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/patience-the-art-of-persevering-in-this-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":28271,"position":4},"title":"Patience: The Art of Persevering in this Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 28, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Forrest D. Moyer As Peter continued to list the characteristics that one must add, he named \"patience\" as being essential in our lives to keep us from falling and to insure us a part in the \"everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior\" (II Peter 1:5-11). James wrote: \"Indeed,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1383,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-have-a-job-that-encourages-others-to-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":28271,"position":5},"title":"Is it wrong to have a job that encourages others to sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 24, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it wrong to have a job where you are not sinning yourself but may be causing someone else to sin? Answer: \"Who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28271\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/runner-200x300.jpg\")
The Christian life is often compared to a long race. Seeing the end of his own life, Paul told Timothy, “I have finished the race<\/em>” (II Timothy 4:7). The writer of Hebrews urged his readers to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus<\/em>” (Hebrews 12:1-2). How we run today reflects how much we have benefited from the training we have received.<\/p>\n