|
A GOOD SOLDIER OF JESUS CHRIST
2 Timothy 2:3-5
If you have been living for a while, you will agree that life is not always easy; in fact it’s not always smooth sailing. Life has a way of blind siding the best of us because that is just what life does. There is a common adage that says that “life is not a bed of roses”. This means that sometimes life may present us with circumstances and situations that may not necessarily be as pleasant as we imagine life should be, thus indicating that at times some unpleasant aspects in the journey of life happen.
In light of this, The Apostle Paul admonishes us to have the attitude of a soldier. This is because the environment a soldier operates in is one full of hardships. The training is hard for a soldier because the real work is extremely tough and full of uncertainty. A soldier must train well if they are to succeed in their work. While many careers have a defined work location and conducive work atmosphere, the soldier is trained to be effective in unfamiliar territory in the midst of danger and strong opposition. The soldier is faced with stiff resistance, hostility, and with the constant reminder that an adversary is ever present and ever willing to destroy their very life, yet a soldier must overcome so that they can be victorious.
Nations are wrought by soldiers who overcome in the midst of blood, sweat and tears. Territories are conquered or defended by soldiers who overcome every odd. The Apostle Paul reminds his son Timothy that he has stepped into a divine mission and though he is young in years, God expects him to overcome every hardship as a soldier does and fulfill the Ministry and Call of God on his life to bring Glory to God. His mission is to Pastor God’s flock, shepherding them as a good shepherd cares for his vulnerable flock as well as reaching out and evangelizing to the lost.
2 Timothy 4:5 The mission to do God’s work is not easy but with God’s assistance and with the right attitude it is possible. It is important to have an attitude of endurance. This means that we face hardships knowing that they will pass if we continue in God. A second attitude is to concern ourselves with Kingdom matters as we cannot overcome if we entangle ourselves with the affairs of this life. We need to live to please the Lord who has called us to serve him and seek to please him.
God is the one we need to please if we are to serve well as good soldiers of Jesus Christ so that in this life and in the next life, we will be crowned for striving well. The Apostle Paul exhorted the young preacher Timothy from experience having lived a focused life right from his conversion to the end of his life. He endured beatings, imprisonment, hunger, shipwrecks, false accusation, amongst other challenges yet he brought many to Christ and preached all over the known Gentile world after the Jews rejected him. What is causing you not to serve God as effectively as you should? If your answer is hardships, then a soldier’s attitude of endurance is the answer you need to keep you moving in the ministry that God has appointed for you to fulfill. At the end of your ministry on earth, you will have the pleasure of witnessing the fruit of the harvest you will have brought if you endure. Remember the Words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:13 “he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” To endure means “to remain firm in a commitment to be true to the commandments of God despite temptation, opposition, and adversity.” Will you be the good soldier that Christ has called you to be? Endurance is the key!
|
