Recently a colleague asked me, “What would you like to be?” I replied, “Well, in terms of career planning, I don’t know. But I want to be someone who is wise, compassionate, and humble.”

In Paul’s letter to his protégé, he didn’t instruct Timothy to become an A-list pastor; rather he reminded him that he was a “man of God” (1 Timothy 6:11).

Interestingly, there’s only one person in the New Testament who’s called “a man of God,” and that’s Timothy. But this term is frequently used in the Old Testament. In fact, it’s used 70 times and always in reference to a spokesman for God—someone whose duty and responsibility is to speak the words of God.

Paul points out four characteristics that mark a man of God:

• He flees. “Run” (1 Timothy 6:11). This is the Greek verb fuagay from which we get the word fugitive. In other words, the man of God is a man on the run. He’s constantly fleeing the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10), ungodly behavior (6:20), lust, and sin (2 Timothy 2:22).

• He follows after. The man of God pursues “righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11).

• He fights. Using the truth, the man of God is engaged in daily warfare against the kingdom of darkness. He’s not resting on his laurels.

• He’s faithful. The man of God “[holds] tightly to . . . eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:12). He views faithful Christian living and service as his necessary responsibility to God. If someone were to ask you, “What would you like to be?” would you answer,

“I want to be a man of God”? That man personally belongs to God, proclaims His Word accurately, and lives an exemplary life.

NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Revelation 21:1-27