Listen to today’s devo!

Take hold of the eternal life. (1 Tim. 6:12)

Expanded Passage: 1 Timothy 6:3-21

Think about two newborn babies. One comes from a rich family, the other one from a poor family. The babies themselves do not know the difference. What they require can be provided by both families. Now think about two tombs in a cemetery. One belongs to a rich person, the other one to a poor person. It makes no difference. Deceased people own nothing.

Throughout his exhortation to Timothy, Paul wanted to make sure his spiritual son focused on what truly mattered. Paul had seen many people lose their way and lose their faith. There were different ways of living life, but for Paul, the right way was to live a holy life. The holy life is characterized by love and contentment. Because of love, Timothy had to treat others, strangers as they were, as family members (1 Tim. 5). Because of contentment, Timothy had to be careful not to set his affections on riches (1 Tim. 6).

Just like Timothy, we must live life as a calling. We too are invited to live a holy life, acting as if Jesus is in charge of all, because, in reality, he is. We can lay hold of an everlasting life as we love and live in contentment, knowing that neither our circumstances of birth nor our possessions at the end of life are determinants of what is to come.

Evaluate how well you love others and how content you are.

Luigi Peñaranda is the former director of graduate programs in Spanish at Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University (IN).

© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.