“A Good Soldier” by: Pastor Fred Snider

“Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs, he wants to please his commanding officer.” 2 Timothy 2:3-4

My commander in chief is Jesus Christ. He is my commanding officer. My deepest desire is to please Him. Sometimes that entails enduring hardship and I should do that like a good soldier, without whining, without sniveling, or complaining. I should do my duty, follow my orders, and conduct myself in such a way as to represent who I am serving. I should stay out of this world’s affairs. At least to the degree that I become part of it more than I am part of His Kingdom work. I cannot sign in and out of my commitment to Christ. I have not been drafted, I enlisted. I signed up for a lifelong tour of duty. When I was bought by the blood of Christ, I relinquished my rights to do as I pleased without consideration of my commander. I know this language sounds so serious. So is our commitment to Christ. Or at least it should be.

Many of us want to be part of a part-time volunteer army for the Lord. We want to pick and choose from the teachings of scripture like it is a menu, or a catalog of possibilities. The Word of God is a service manual. It is a map and instruction guide. It is the s sole source and authority of my faith and practice. I cannot selectively remove passages of Scripture because they make me or others uncomfortable. My commander goes by The Book. So must I, because that is what good soldiers do. If we do this, then the hardship will come and we will endure. Why? Because we are good soldiers. I don’t need to please this world or anyone, but Him. I serve Him, no one else. I desire to please Him. Him alone. If I will seek first the King and the Kingdom of God, everything else will fall into place. When it does not, I will keep serving and trusting Him. Why? Because I want to be a good soldier. It pleases Him when I am subordinate to Him, and His will, and His Word. There is but one response to my commander and that response is, “Yes sir!” Do you have that kind of relationship with your commander? Is He your commander in chief or are you just playing army when you want to? Or are you more of a civilian, or a draftee? If you enlisted, then you must follow the manual, obey the commander, and get in line. We are in a spiritual war. We need good soldiers. He has won this war, but we must mop up before he returns.

Please be In His Service with me,
Pastor Fred

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