July 11: In His Own Time

But you, O man of God, flee [the desire for riches] and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith love, patience, gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:11

The decision to flee worldly pursuits and turn toward the pursuit of God will instantly reveal that He is already in pursuit of you. The riches of righteousness, godliness, faith love, patience, and gentleness that He wants to bestow are of incomparably greater value . . . lasting value! They are costly. They will cost each of us our pride, anger, wrong motives, jealousy, irritability, stubbornness, and rebellious nature. But He bore the greatest cost by far to make them available to us: the life of His Son.

“I urge you in the sight of God … and before Christ Jesus… that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality…” 1 Timothy 6:13-16a

This plain statement about our God, who alone has immortality, stands as a correction to the widespread teaching stated thus: “I have a soul that will never die.” This false teaching is rooted in the serpent’s lie to Eve: “You shall not surely die.” (Genesis 3:4). The human soul, or human being, is a body to which God has given the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). But because of sin, we are under the sentence of death. God has said: For dust you are, And to dust you shall return (Genesis 3:19). The gift of everlasting life—immortality—is only for those who humbly accept the exchange: the death of the Sinless One, Jesus, in our place. We cannot fathom such love, yet the thrill of gaining eternity rings true in every heart won to God. At our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time…

… the trumpet will sound, and the dead [in Christ] will be raised incorruptible, and we [believers who are still alive] shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:52b-53 (see also 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 and John 3:16)