My first 25ish years of ministering to high school students via Young Life found me running with cross country (XC) and track teams. It was an effective means of developing relationships with kids and coaches. While running with kids, I was “Jesus with skin on,” becoming part of the fabric of their world, as we like to say in Young Life. An example…
One time after we had moved to a new community, I started attending some XC meets, just showing up. Kids and coaches notice when non-parents show up at XC meets. While attending my second meet at this new school, the coach asked me who I was and what I did. I told him I had just moved to town after accepting an engineering position at a local manufacturing facility. He was a geometry teacher.
He invited me to run across the course with him to a mile marker where he could observe the runners’ times. As we ran, I asked if there was a need for geometry tutoring and if I could possibly play a role. He stopped dead in his tracks (keep in mind how busy a head coach might be during an XC meet) and said, “Yes! Let’s talk!” Long story short, I soon found myself tutoring in the school two times a week during my lunchtime. I had the privilege of being “Jesus with skin on” and becoming part of the fabric of the school. And I started running with the XC guys a couple times a week.
Watching XC meets over the years, I discovered that the lead runner often did not win the race. The trophy more often than not went to one that chased after and ran down the lead runner(s). It was especially hard to watch when the one that got chased down was a young man or woman that I knew.
Running with youngsters many years my junior was great for my own development as a runner. I began running road races. I wasn’t a great runner, but above average, even winning a trophy once in a while. I wasn’t a fast runner, but could plug along at a consistent pace. My sense of achievement was often tied to the number of runners I could pass during the course of the race, chasing down the next runner ahead of me. Chasing, not looking back – it served me well.
I was recently reading the apostle Paul’s first pastoral letter to his friend and apprentice, Timothy. Timothy had been left to shepherd the Church of Ephesus in Paul’s absence. As he closed the letter to Timothy, Paul underscored the significance of using wisdom when: appointing people into leadership positions; speaking against false teachings; challenging the piety of the self-righteous; considering the role of and focusing on money (thus the well-known, “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil”), etc.
In his final charge to Timothy, Paul encouraged him to flee from the things that easily entrap Christians whose focus was other than Jesus and instead fight a better fight, saying…
Chase after justice, godliness, faith, love, patience and gentleness.
Many translations read to “pursue” these virtues. N.T. Wright translated “pursue” as “chase after” (see 1 Timothy 6:11, Kingdom New Testament). The English transliteration of the Greek word Paul used is diOke, which means “be-chasing” or “be-pursuing.” DiOke is a present imperative verb signifying a continuous chasing after the listed virtues (e.g., “chase and keep on chasing”). We discussed the present imperative tense in a previous blog post.
As I mentioned, Paul had cautioned Timothy to run from the things that entrap and take one’s focus from Jesus. Instead, Paul encouraged him to focus on (chase after) the virtues that are congruent with Christ-likeness.
To what end?
Paul was reminding Timothy to fight this better fight while focused on King Jesus who made the noble profession before Pontius Pilate (1 Timothy 6:13, NTFE). What was that noble profession? Pilate asked Jesus if he was king of the Jews. Jesus’ response was a definitive “Yes” (cf. Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 18). King implies nobility. A noble profession indeed.
Paul was telling Timothy to chase and keep on chasing after Christlikeness until the royal appearance* of our Lord King Jesus, the only Sovereign One, the King of kings and Lord of Lords (1 Timothy 6:14-15, NTFE).
What do we chase after these days?
I wonder what we chase after these days. Just like 2000 years ago, I suspect many of us get caught up chasing after money and the happiness it might bring. In the United States, we are heading toward another Presidential election. Do we get caught up chasing after politicians and political pundits that we hope will bring good news to our divided country? Do we get caught up in the culture wars, chasing down those we disagree with? Do we find ourselves chasing after stuff that would pale at the royal presence of the King of kings and Lord of Lords? Paul:
You must run away from all this. Instead, chase after justice, godliness, faith, love, patience and gentleness.
* Interestingly, the Greek word for “royal appearance” is epiphaneia, the word from which we get the Christian term “Epiphany.”
Practical Theology Today 