Fighting the Good Fight

"I have fought the good fight" (2 Tim 4:7).  The imagery of fighting, straining, running the race and struggling are found throughout scripture. Many times, especially in the athletics, the verses containing these exhortations are bent and contorted in an attempt to motivate people to exert themselves in some worldly endeavor.  But what Paul is referring to here is so much bigger.  The Christian life is a fight, it is a war, not against governments or people groups, but against sin and the powers of darkness.  The more I live life the more I am convinced of, and see the truth in this.  But I think more often than not Christians don't see life as a fight, they see it as a vacation.  

I think there may be a couple of reasons for this, including poor teaching and theology and a basic worldview held by many that we are basically good people with a few imperfections rather than a worldview that holds to the truth that we are basically wicked people incapable of good apart from Christ.  But I think an even bigger factor in this is that we have lost the concept of total war and embraced an ideology based on limited engagement.  We want tactical, surgical hits on the things in our life that we don't like, and we expect them to just disappear and go away after a single battle.  The idea of prolonged, drawn out warfare in which all assets are brought to bear agains the enemy and the goal is the complete and utter annihilation of the enemy is not popular in a society that demands instant gratification and shies away from conflict.  Always being on guard gets tiring.  It gets monotonous at times.  It wears a person down.  Which is why the Christian is continually called upon to press into and depend totally on Christ and not their own power.  And we must emphasize that it is a day by day, minute by minute pressing into Christ, not a once and done deal.  It is not as if we call out to Christ and he comes and tactically nukes our issue and then we just go on living life without struggle no longer having to depend on Christ.  No, we continually press into Him and never let our guard down.  We wage war against sin (and I'm not referring to the Christian right's war against abortion and homosexuality, I am referring to the sin in every person ever born, the natural desire of men to chose themselves and the world over God).  The good fight is one that does not end in this lifetime.  It is long, it is hard, and it will exact a toll on whoever engages in it.  But Christ is sufficient and His power to fight never ending.  And at the end, when finally told by our Lord, we may lay down our sword and enter into His rest.