Soldiers,athletes, And Farmers Series

The program showed an interview with female soldier who had been called up. This woman had a 4 year-old son, and when she was called up, she had to leave the child with her mother or sister. Her husband was a soldier as well who had also been called up. Both were both being sent to Kuwait and as the interview continued, a picture of her child was shown and the woman had tears streaming down her face.

The interviewer asked the woman, “If they gave you a chance to say “No” about coming here to Kuwait, would you have said no?”

The woman replied, “I would not have said “No”, because I’m a soldier, and protecting my son’s future is why I’m here.”

I thought, “Wow!” This is the dedicated soldier the apostle Paul is referring to in 2nd Timothy, Chapter 2. I never heard even one soldier interviewed say, “I want war.” However, every one of them was committed to fight if that’s what it comes down to.

· War is not a picnic; it involves the suffering of a good soldier.

· War results in death, maimed bodies, and destroyed minds.

· War involves the evil; but, it also involves the innocent.

· I guess war involves the consequences of evil found in the world!

Paul uses the metaphor of a dedicated soldier so Timothy can understand Christian warfare and what being a true dedicated soldier can involve.

Timothy—as well as every Christian today—is to be involved in Christian warfare. That means accepting our share of the pain, the hurt, and the suffering is inevitable.

Paul tells Timothy to be a dedicated soldier requires “single-mindedness”. We cannot become entangled in “civilian” pursuits, rather we must satisfy the one who “enlisted” us.

In the Roman army, not only was the commander the leader; in many cases he was also the recruiter. Naturally, he wanted men who were loyal and loved and trusted him. These traits won battles, and the Roman legionnaires knew how to win.

There could never be a “two-fold objective” for a dedicated soldier and James tells us we can’t be double-minded either!

James 1:6-8

---6---“But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

---7---For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

---8---Being a double-minded man, unstable in all of his ways.”

Now some may ask, “Does this mean that we should not use our civilian resources and abilities in this war?” Well, Paul certainly used his, because he was a tentmaker and he used his vocation to further the cause of the Gospel.

Many of the apostles were fishermen and they used that pursuit. However, this was only their vocation—not the great pursuit in their lives. Someone once said, “Christianity is not a way of doing special things, but a special way to do everything.”

As Christians, we are seeking to please Him as dedicated soldiers!

The Discipline of an Athlete.

Paul tells Timothy, “…an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” We are given certain standards to meet in order to win—with honor—the prize. This takes discipline—the perfect example of discipline found in the life of an athlete.