From the Series ‘”An Approved Servant of the Lord” from larryslines.comLarryMiles

 

If  one wants  to be “An Approved Servant of the Lord,” he or she will need to practice faithfulness in their Christian  life.  We have all be  called out of a “kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of His Love.” (Col. 1:12-14) We  must  be  ones  who put a  premium on faithfulness. We must realize that  we are  in “for the  duration.” The Lord takes us from where we were and, if we are   willing  to grow, He will provide the  resources we need to be equipped for  service. This  process  will  involve   “endurance.”

In  2 Timothy 2:3-7, Paul uses three simple but  powerful  images; the soldier, the athlete, and the farmer.   He uses them to illustrate  some  important truths.  This  first  article will center on the “Soldier of Christ.”

The Dedicated  Soldier (2 Tim. 2:3-4).  One of the many “pictures” of the Church in the New Testament is that of a “soldier.” The writers of the New Testament, especially the Apostle Paul, used that terminology. Paul and his readers were very familiar with the military concept in their lives. There were various degrees of military occupation in the provinces of the Roman Empire in the First Century. Some provinces required more military presence than others. Palestine was one of the most volatile places in the Empire so there was a large military presence there.

The Christian “soldier” must, like the Roman soldier avail himself of all the equipment needed to be effective as a soldier. Because of our faith in, and obedience to the Gospel, we are now in the Lord’s Army! Jesus expects us to “let our light shine” and use the training we receive to not only help us be better soldiers for Him, but to help others in the same manner.

Charles Wesley wrote, “Stand then in his great might, with all his strength endured, and take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God.” If we will do this we will fulfill the words of Paul in 2 Tim 2:3-3. Because we have our eyes on Jesus at all times (Heb. 12:1-2), we will not as Paul says, “get entangled in civilian pursuits.” One of the songs we sing goes like this: “More about Jesus I would know, More of His grace to others show; More of His saving fullness see, More of His love who died for me.”

Christians must strive to be the best soldiers we can be. We can rest assured that our Commander, the Lord Jesus, is leading us by example and is out in the forefront of the battle. He has provided all that we need to fight the spiritual battle. We only need to be willing to “take up the whole armor of God.”

 

       Larry Miles is part-time preacher at the Mackville, KY Church of Christ and attends      

       Cherry St. Church of Christ, New Albany, IN.