Be Strong In The Grace Series

3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Endure hardship. What hardship? We hardly know anything about hardship these days. We’re living in the wimpy world of plush, cushy, have-everything, easy-living America!

Seriously, most of us have it pretty easy, do we not?

ILL.- Mowing the grass is not a hard chore but we might think it’s hard chore. However, do you remember the days when people used to mow grass with one of those old rotary lawn mowers? I never liked them but that’s all we had and they were work to me!

I’d hate to mow my grass with one today. It would take me all day and perhaps then some!

Or how about the days when you raised your own vegetables or else you had none?! And the same with your meat? Talk about work! That was work. It’s much easier to pick it up today at the grocery store and store it in your refrigerator rather than an ice box or a cold stream that ran by your house!

And remember when you walked everywhere you went, instead of driving a car? We all have it so very hard! NOT! NOT SO!

And seriously, we know little about enduring hardship when it comes to the faith of Christ. We go to church and that may be the end of our faith, other than our private prayer time. I think the hardship may only come when we truly begin to exercise our faith by talking about it out in public. THAT’S WHEN YOU MAY INCUR SOME WRATH OR OPPOSITION.

I have noticed, however, here in Jonesboro that most of the people that I meet go to church and believe in Jesus. Consequently, you may not have to endure much hardship when it comes to our town.

I do believe, however, that whenever we start to preach the faith and live the faith strongly then we will incur some opposition and that’s when we must endure hardship, criticism, etc.

So let’s endure hardship like a good soldier for Christ and began spreading the faith!

3. BEING STRONG MEANS TO PLEASE THE COMMANDER

4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer.

Being strong in the faith means obeying our commanding officer.

I’m not sure you have to experience being in the armed service, however, to understand the matter of obedience. Although I do believe that if you’re in the army now and you don’t obey your commanding officers you might not like what you’d get!

ILL.- Mr. Lawson was my high school music teacher. He was healthy, had big arms, was strong, and if you didn’t behave in his class you got his board across your backside. And I found out one day! From then on I paid attention in class.

I think, however, that disobedience in the armed services was and perhaps is a lot rougher than that.

What’s the meaning of AWOL? And does this have any significance for the Christian life?

My understanding is that it means Absent Without Leave, meaning desertion or perhaps temporary absence without being given a leave of absence. Or leaving your post with the intention of not returning. DO CHRISTIANS EVER DO THIS?