泰瑞是健身中心的常客，從他的身材可見一斑。他的肩膀寬厚，肌肉線條明顯，他的上臂就和我的大腿差不多粗。泰瑞健碩的身型促使我跟他談一談屬靈的事，我問他對健身這麼投入，那麼他跟上帝的關係是否也是如此健康。那一天，我們雖然沒有深談，但泰瑞清楚表明上帝是他生命的主宰。我們聊了不少，泰瑞還讓我看了他以前的照片。那時他重達180公斤、過度肥胖又不健康。後來，他改變了生活方式，身體也出現奇蹟似的變化。

提摩太前書4章6-10節特別提到身體和屬靈的操練。使徒保羅勸勉信徒：「在敬虔上操練自己。操練身體，益處還少；惟獨敬虔，凡事都有益處，因有今生和來生的應許」（7-8節）。從一個人身體的健康並不能看出他與上帝的關係，屬靈的健康是內心的問題。首先我們要決定相信耶穌，藉著耶穌使我們的罪得到赦免。從那時起，敬虔生活的操練便開始了。就像保羅勉勵提摩太：「常在信仰的話語上，和你所遵從美善的教訓上得著培養」（6節，新譯本）。期盼你我能夠倚靠上帝的能力，活出尊榮天父上帝的生命。

Tre is a regular at the fitness center and it shows. His shoulders are wide, his muscles pronounced, and his upper arms close to the size of my thighs. His physical condition prompted me to engage him in a spiritual conversation. I asked him if his commitment to physical fitness in some way mirrored a healthy relationship with God. Though we didn’t go too deep, Tre did acknowledge “God in his life.” We talked long enough for him to show me a picture of the four-hundred-pound, unfit, unhealthy version of himself. A change in his lifestyle had worked wonders physically.

In 1 Timothy 4:6-10, physical and spiritual training come into focus. “Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (vv. 7-8). One’s external fitness doesn’t change our status with God. Our spiritual fitness is a matter of the heart. It begins with a decision to believe in Jesus, through whom we receive forgiveness. From that point, training for godly living begins. This includes being “nourished on the truths of the faith and of . . . good teaching” (v. 6) and, by God’s strength, living a life that honors our heavenly Father.