A GOOD SOLDIER

In 1996 I was blessed with the opportunity to participate in a missionary journey through parts of Zambia and Botswana, Africa. While in the country of Zambia we worked in the Northern Province with some of our faithful African brethren. A Gospel Meeting had been planned, scheduled, and advertised near the town of Mansa. People from many miles away had walked, biked, or hitched rides to come to the meeting.
During the time we were in Zambia we encountered many obstacles and suffered under some difficulty. One of the members of the church there in Zambia, Aaron Matintillo, recognized the efforts we had made in taking the Gospel to his area. Because he knew of the work we had done he called us soldiers. What he said was true. We are soldiers. In fact, all Christians are soldiers.
Paul told Timothy to "...endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." (2 Timothy 2:3) Christians must be prepared to endure hardness in order to faithfully serve Christ. A soldier in the United States Army must be willing to endure hardness. This is why he goes through boot camp. If he is not tough enough to endure under the stress and duress of boot camp he certainly won't last in battle. He must be trained to endure hardness.
Being a Christian is not always easy. Different pressures are placed upon us by Satan to conform to the world and give up the cause, but no matter how difficult it becomes we must be willing to endure hardness as a good soldier. When family puts pressure upon us to give up on the Lord we must endure. When Satan tempts us to give in to our lusts and live like the world we must endure. When friends try to destroy our relationship with God we must endure. When our jobs or school, or pursuit of some non-spiritual goal in life threatens to interfere with our service to God we must not allow it, we must fight on, we must endure hardness as a good soldier.
We must be willing and ready to endure hardness if we are going to be good soldiers. A good soldier follows orders. Our orders come from God and are set forth in the Bible. The good Christian soldier carefully obeys the Lord because the Lord is the One who has been given all authority from the Father. (Matthew 28:18) When we obey the Lord we will study, apply, practice, teach, and stand up for the truth. A good soldier will not waver nor give in. When a soldier of Christ stands for the truth he can expect trouble. Many people don't like the truth because they don't want to be convicted. Most in the world will oppose the truth. Many within the church have deserted their own commander and in acts of traitorous cowardice will turn against those who remain faithful. It will be hard at times to stand for the truth, but a good soldier will endure hardness.
On the wall in my office is a cross-stitch picture that was made for me by a Christian in Minnesota. The picture is of a little boy with armor on and sword in hand. A careful look at the picture shows the boy's sword and armor damaged, bandages on his face, and rotten fruit and eggs that have fallen at his feet after hitting his shield. A faithful Christian soldier will often be battered and bruised like the one in the picture, but the motto of every Christian ought to be the very same one that is written on this picture. "Onward Christian Soldiers."
What kind of soldier are you? Are you a good one who carefully follows orders and stands prepared to defend the faith at any time? I hope that you are. We need more Christians who will endure hardness as a good soldier.
~Kevin V. Rutherford