F.A.S.T.

UV 4239/10000 F.A.S.T. Think over the things I am saying (grasp their application), for the Lord will grant you insight and understanding in everything. 2 Timothy 2 v 7 Paul writes to his mentee Timothy to be strong, personally and spiritually. Then, he goes on to share the image of three professions that he would have him emulate. Though Paul mentions the farmer the last after the soldier and the athlete, the correct order to think about it is Farmer, Athlete, Soldier or FAS and since Paul asks to think over the precepts, let us add T for Thinker. Believers need to be also thinkers thinking of whatever is good,noble, beautiful in their lives and how to overcome the negative, ugly, sordid in life. Paul uses all pragmatic models that are easily understood and down to earth. The farmer is the least glamourous. As believers and followers of Christ, we need to be patient like the farmer to see the results or fruit or crop of our efforts. But the Lord will send rain or blessings and grace in due season, both the early rain for sowing and the latter rain for harvesting. He will also send seasons of dryness. We need to be diligent or dutiful through all the seasons and wait with hope and expectancy of our faith for the harvest. Next, we need to be focused like the athlete, persistent through many trials and failures to reach our goal of completing the race of grace victoriously. We need to be disciplined and determined, cutting out all distractions and disturbances in our training schedule, in our preparation or run up to the actual race. We should prepare, train, plan, work out with the crown of salvation in our hearts and minds. We should not spare any effort and endure every pain in order to gain the eternal prize. Thirdly, we need to emulate the soldier in bravery, boldness, aloofness from other activities and concerns in order to train and be ready for the good fight, bloodless but no less intense. We need to be obedient, mindful of the rules and precepts of conduct, so that we do not get entangled in worldly affairs. Finally, we should be thinking about all these things continually and intermittently so that we put it into practice and keep improving in all the aspects of life like a farmer, an athlete, a soldier. We need to move from belief to practice, from words and thoughts on the word to application such that the word becomes flesh or manifest to all. The uni-verse holds the promise that as we think on all these things, the Lord will give us wisdom, insight, grace to apply it, to make it part of our lives in everything we do and are.