The Life of a Soldier

2 Timothy 2:3-4 "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier."

Paul exhorts Timothy, his "beloved child", to join him in willingly, joyfully embracing ongoing suffering for the sake of Savior Jesus. The reasoning and motivation for this lifestyle is because they are not employees of Jesus, but soldiers of Jesus.

All soldiers are trained to fight and expect to do so should there be war. Therefore, Paul pleads with Timothy to live with a soldier's mindset. That means not allowing oneself to become occupied in civilian activities which make a soldier less effective or even useless in battle. A good soldier doesn't use his idle time to play golf, he runs to keep his body fit. Even as he relaxes his rifle is near and he waits for his instructions.

I am not called to comfort and relaxation. I am called to suffer and strive, denying myself even simple, mundane pleasures. Every day, every hour, every choice is an opportunity to live for Jesus and not for myself. I cannot become "entangled in everyday life" so that I will be a good soldier. How do I not become entangled when so much of my life is mundane and does not seem like warfare? How does this work itself out when my "active duty" is playing with Abram and changing diapers?

Perhaps when discerning whether something is "active duty" or "everyday life" I should ask, "Is this what Jesus has chosen for me or is this what I have chosen for myself?". That seems to be the difference between a civilian and a soldier. The civilian decides how to use his own time, but a soldier looks to their commander to decide because the decision is not theirs to make. One is under a higher authority, the other is not.

So how can I live with a soldier's mindset today? What practical things can I do or not do to be a good soldier? I cannot pause and read the Bible before every decision I make today, but I can pause and pray. I will ask and listen to make sure that what I'm doing is Jesus' idea and not my own. Then I must rely on Him, because the One who called me into service is the only One who can sustain my service. The commands He issues are not that of a hard, staunch drill-sergeant but rather a Sovereign, Servant-King who loves me and gave His life for me.

Whiskey and Jesus

Psalm 66:16 "Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul."

When I consider what God has done for my soul, I don't know where to begin because He has done so much. I am breathing, I have an amazing wife, and I have a good job with great coworkers. I thank God for all of these, but I would not be able to enjoy them in this capacity if not for the change in my life that occurred when God took an alcoholic and made him a follower of Jesus.

Those who knew me well years ago don't need to be told that I loved to drink. I lived for it. I was good at it, even proud of it. The bottle and I were best friends from the moment we met. We did everything together, so much that I couldn't stand to be sober. I learned to depend on my fermented friend like a cripple does his crutch.

Almost a decade later, the crutch of my alcoholism had become more of a wheel chair. I was quite content to remain in that cozy chair until I realized that chains held me there. This became evident to me when I tried to quit for sanity and safety's sake. A few too many black-outs, hangovers and a night in jail left me with a mind to quit, or at least slow down. But as any addict will tell you, it's not that simple. I never knew how weak-willed I was until I tried to stop drinking. Every trial produced a failure which left me only more trapped. Many failures later I tried something unfamiliar: I prayed.

I had never been big on prayer because honestly, I didn't know who I was supposedly talking to. But I had exhausted all of my options and lost the illusion that I could save myself. So I considered the God who made me, and whether He could save me. I had heard before that this God had sent His Son Jesus to live among us and die in the place of drunks like me. Admittedly, that story had held my attention like an infomercial on cookware. However the night I saw my sinfulness and pleaded with the God of the universe to forgive me and change me, my apathy toward Jesus was killed.

My request was answered, and praise God I have never even desired a drink since. Instead I wanted Jesus. He became the most compelling person in the world to me. He changed my desires. He broke my addictions. He saved me from the consequences of my crimes by taking on my punishment. He became the wheelchair I willingly and happily depend on. Yes I am still a cripple, but now I lean on the God of grace and not an empty bottle. Alcohol promised to satisfy but delivered only a dead life. Jesus also promised to satisfy and, far more than whiskey or beer, I tell you friends: Jesus satisfies.

I don't tell you this to condemn drinking in any way. I tell you this because I want you to know how large the love of Jesus Christ is! However great our shortcomings, His mercy is greater. However badly we have wrecked our lives, He is eager to receive the junk-heap of our souls and rebuild them.

His words to the worst of us: "It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:32)
His words to the best of us: "No one is good except God alone." (Luke 18:19)
His words to the rest of us: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

Help for the Helpless

Romans 5:6 "for while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly."

There is something scandalous in these words. A man without guilt was placed under the penalty of men with much guilt, and he received their death sentence. It is as if justice was turned on its head, and not a single objection was made. No protests were heard, no pleas for mercy, only the emphatic cries of an angry mob, demanding the death of a man who had never wronged anyone.

The man of perpetual controversy, Jesus, was accused of "making himself equal with God" (John 5:18). And so the mobs, incited by religious rabble rousers, demanded a punishment fit for murderers and mutineers; death on a Roman cross. To many onlookers, his death was a bloody spectacle with no divine purpose or meaning. However the crucified Jesus did not leave us without explanation to the question of his death, but told his friends that he "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). And so he died..."for the ungodly."

It is not with readiness that men identify themselves with this title. No one is eager to sit in the seat of criminals and convicts and share in their shame. "Ungodly" has such an unflattering ring, it belongs to the worst of the worst and the lowest of low lives, yet these are the very ones Christ died for.

It wasn't until I realized that I was one of them that the death of Jesus became wonderful news to me. I have heard the Biblical indictment of humanity, that we "all like sheep have gone astray" (Isaiah 53:6). I have seen this confirmed daily in my own heart; a cowardly rebellion against the God of love, and I tremble knowing that He is also a God of justice who "will by no means leave the guilty unpunished" (Exodus 34:7). But He is so GOOD! My resistance is shattered when I hear the invitation He makes: "'Come now, and let us reason together' says the Lord, 'though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow'" (Isaiah 1:18).

What can I do but come to Jesus and be forgiven!? Though I am ungodly and indisputably guilty, though I am helpless and incapable of making all my wrongs right, it is for someone like ME that Jesus died, so I count myself among the richest men alive.

Not Disappointed

Romans 5:5 "and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

Being let down is the result of misplaced hope. Everyone has experienced this; we set expectations in hope that someone or something will fulfill those expectations. When they aren't met, we grieve at our unfulfilled investment and generally blame the thing we hoped in for letting us down. So where is well placed hope?

We can turn our hope inward and grope for gratification in our accomplishments, we can turn our hope outward and search for satisfaction in people and possessions, or we can turn our hope upward and find fulfillment in the unchanging, never-failing God of love who gladly gives grace without restraint to everyone who would have it! Just as it is written..."whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." (Romans 9:33)

Happy Tribulations

Romans 5:3-4 "we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;"

The sovereignty of God is so full, so complete, that even the most difficult times are designed to produce hope. This is the mystery of His mercy; to bring discomfort and to build strength, to wound and to heal, to try and to teach. The result proves worthwhile; hope in God increases as we are utterly lost in complex and unsolvable situations. Hard times tend to strip away self-worth. In those times, when there is nothing left to admire in yourself, nothing noble or strong, wise or eloquent, charming or tasteful, but only the exposed short-comings of a rebellious heart, that is when God's grace is realized.

This is the most liberating realization! In me is nothing but in God is everything and in Him I have everything. I can happily empty myself of any sense of entitlement and receive God's grace the way it is given, as a gift.