Note 21 — Chapter XX
Reading edition
It may interest the reader to know that the four leading authorities agree in reading ὄντως instead of αἰωνίου in 1 Timothy vi. 19. Thus the passage would be, "That they may lay hold on life in earnest," or in reality. The only real life is, to live for Christ—to live in the light of eternity—to use all we possess for the promotion of God's glory and with an eye to the everlasting mansions. This, and only this, is life in earnest.