A good soldier

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. – 2 Timothy 2.3-4

Endure hardness as a good soldier.

Though from a military family where my dad, two brothers, a son and sin-in-law have all served despite having planned to serve when I was young I have never served so I can’t speak from personal experience.

However, I do know enough to know that soldiering is no easy task. The worst thing a soldier could do was to get distracted from his task. If a soldier were to get distracted they could very well end up dead. Soldiering takes unity of purpose and cooperation and determination and dedication and purpose and obedience to the commander. To be a success it requires a love of country.

All of these things are required as we soldier on for Christ. We serve, as this verse says, to please our commander – Jesus Christ. I think of Joshua when he met the pre-incarnate Christ across the Jordan when Jesus told him ‘I am the commander of the Lord of hosts.’ I also think of Jesus returning leading His saints to bring diving wrath and justice to this broken world.

The soldier image is a powerful. We are in for a fight – a long and tedious fight, but we do not war with carnal weapons and a human enemy. Our fight is agains spiritual wickedness in high places.

But our Commander is supreme and will arm us for the fight.