By Lamont H. Fuchs, Ed.D.
The World is the Front Lines. No doubt, this is the battlefield. The battlefield is where you need to have put on all your armor, as written about in Ephesians 6. The enemy is out there, and the enemy is prepared to attack you and fight you over every good deed that glorifies God and for every soul you might lead to Christ. The enemy will use every trick and lie to penetrate, infiltrate, and annihilate you and your efforts. Sometimes (too often), he will break down the walls and walk in the front door of the fort or your place of safety in garrison. If satan (I will not capitalize that name) cannot kill you, he will do everything to make you ineffective in battle.
Being a good soldier requires dedication – a good soldier is dedicated and takes an oath to protect and defend. When good soldiers take an oath, they literally write a blank check to give their lives if needed to honor the duty they have volunteered to do. Have you taken an oath to give your life in service to God?
Commitment – with any sworn dedication is a mental bond to live a life worthy of a good soldier. Many soldiers never let down their guard and are always faithful to behave and live as the military doctrine requires. Some carry the commitment of that integrity into their civilian lives after they have served. I can attest to the adage of Once a Marine, Always a Marine. Few ever take on a private life that leaves behind the ingrained Marine integrity and dedication taught from the first day of basic training. As Christians, we, too, can and should carry our commitment to Jesus for our entire lives. Good soldiers obey, take orders, and fight to the death for what they believe.
Surrender – soldiers also know what it means to surrender. When ordered, they will submit to the authority of those who hold their lives in their hands. Surrender is seldom a choice, and it is rarely a negotiation; it is not an agreement or a bargain. Surrender is giving oneself over to the total control of your life to a greater power. God wants each of His soldiers to have surrendered to only One, the One and Only – God. Surrender is an All-In sum of one’s life.
Read – 2 Timothy 2:1-4, Thou therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier on service entangleth himself in the affairs of this life; that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier.
This part of the verses seems strange, and I often wondered what Paul is saying, implying, or teaching. I get the part about pleasing the one who enlisted him, referring to each of us as we who have accepted Jesus, aim to please the one who enlisted us, but what do you suppose he means about “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits?” When I served in the military, I knew I was really at work and under the control of my superiors 24/7. We could be called into battle or war at any time, and we knew we had better show up or be declared a deserter. Sure, during peace, they gave us time off and facilitated making our lives as normal as possible, but it was not that way in Paul’s time. In Paul’s day, a soldier was indeed a soldier 24/7. Soldiers, not commanders or generals, but the soldiers in the field, garrison, and fort were always on-call and on-duty. They did not go to the store; they did not have weekends with their wife and kids; they did not work a part-time job, enjoy hobbies, or take time off to go sightseeing or go to a favorite restaurant. If they did any of that, they did it when they were on duty. Even today, the life of a soldier in some military organizations, as then, is a total commitment. They never participated in civilian affairs because they were not civilians. They often were ordered against civilians because most of the military at the time of Paul were occupation forces.
Come back next week for the third and final installment.
God and Father, you alone are worthy to follow. Lead my life and be a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. Shod my feet with the faith to follow you wherever you lead me. Give me whatever tools are needed to be your servant and soldier in battle. Please give me the courage to fight and stand firm for the gospel wherever and whenever allowed to witness.
