The Dash

From: Greg Laurie Ministries

1 Timothy 4:8 "While physical training is of limited importance, devotion is valuable in every respect, since it holds a promise of life both for the present and for eternity."

Our culture is obsessed with the outward appearance and trying to lengthen life. We exercise regularly. We eat the right foods. We supplement our diets with vitamins and minerals. We get our physical check-ups in the hope of extending our lives for a few more years.

There is a place for taking care of ourselves physically. We don't want to neglect that. But you can put too much emphasis on the physical, neglecting the spiritual. Certainly do not neglect the physical. God has put your soul in a human body. So take care of it.

Even so, understand that you will live as long as God wants you to live. Not less or more. You don't determine your date of birth, and you don't determine the date of your death. You do, however, have a lot to say about that time in the middle, "the dash." "Therefore we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." (2 Corinthians 4:16)