Monday, November 11, is Veterans Day, a national day set aside each year to honor those who have served in our country’s armed forces. Although I have never served in the military, I sure do hold a deep appreciation for those who have and those who are currently serving to protect the freedoms we all hold dear. Thank God for our veterans!
The Word of God describes Christians as soldiers of the Lord, and the metaphor is very appropriate. Jesus Christ is the Captain of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10), and we as Christian soldiers are engaged with the forces of evil in a real and spiritual battle (see Ephesians 6:10-18 and II Corinthians 10:3-5). The apostle Paul gives us the qualifications of a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (II Timothy 2:3-4).
- A good soldier is PERSEVERING – “endure hardness.”
How easy it is to become discouraged at times because of the hardness of the way. But Jesus told us that it would not be easy to be His disciple! He said, “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20b). We are to obey God and keep doing what is right regardless of what may come. God blesses those who endure… who persevere. - A good soldier is SEPARATED – “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life.”
Everything that would draw us away from our devotion to Christ and detract from our duty to Him must be abandoned. Anything that would hinder us in our service to the Lord must be forsaken. Jesus said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33a). What is needed in our day is Christians who will stand up for Jesus Christ and not become entangled with the things of this world, which will one day pass away. - A good soldier is SINGLE-FOCUSED – “that he may please Him.”
We are to live for an audience of One! Our goal is not to be “men pleasers” – or as Paul put it, “For do I now persuade men or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). One is your Master, even Christ. Are you striving to please Him? - A good soldier is ACCEPTED – “chosen him to be a soldier.”
Not everyone is chosen to serve in our nation’s military. Certain qualifications must be met. In the same way, moral or spiritual defects hinder one from being a good soldier of Jesus Christ. What the Lord is looking for is not necessarily men and women of great talent, but those who are willing to be obedient to His call. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
“Rouse then, soldiers, rally round the banner,
Ready, steady, pass the word along;
Onward, forward, shout a loud ‘Hosanna,’
Christ is Captain of the mighty throng.”
(The chorus of “Sound the Battle Cry”)