Soldiers Part 1

"You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."                                                                                  2 Timothy 2:3-4.  NKJV

Over the next day or two, I would like to address the subject of Soldiers and their responsibilities within the Regular Army and God's Army, There are quite a few similarities.

First of all, we have the Regular Army where men and women serve our country, providing us with freedom and protection. In the UK, they volunteer for this role and can serve - as a career - for many years. Then there is God's Army, where men, women and this time, children serve as Soldiers of Jesus Christ. 

When you consider it, both armies qualify for active service. The Regular Army can be deployed to battle areas throughout the world whenever there is a conflict. God's Army, are on continuous active service, day and night 24/7. The Regulars serve the Queen and her government; God's Army serves Jesus Christ - their Commander in Chief. Both swear allegiance to their respective leaders and both must compete according to the rules:

'he competes according to the rules'.  2 Timothy 2:5

Whatever army you belong to, there is a need for discipline, commitment, dedication and to be fit, healthy and highly trained. At times, there is a need to endure hardship. In battle, nothing is ever easy and it takes a focused mind in order to survive and get the job done. 

Both armies need to be vigilant; there is an enemy out there and they won't give up because they too, are dedicated in their role. There is no time for distraction or for messing around. It is a serious and dangerous business and there is a need to be prepared and alert for whatever may be around the corner.

Regular soldiers are trained to kill, if need be. You may think that this is a major difference between the two armies but you would be wrong. Members of God's Army can kill too! They can kill the moment with their bad attitude, complaining, moaning and walking around with the biggest frown, pointing the finger at everyone except themselves. They can kill their reputations by not competing according to the rules. (2 Timothy 2:5). They can kill their ministry by becoming involved in things such as, adultery, homosexuality, fornication, stealing, pride and self-seeking and let us not forget the tongue which can utter some bad things if not controlled. They can kill their testimonies by not living up to what they confess. Unbelievers love this kind of stuff and look around for the opportunity to point the finger at hypocrisy. The devil has a hey day in areas such as this. 

So you see, both armies are capable of killing. As Christians we are enlisted into God's Army, which is a difference to the Regular Army which is volunteer based. However, it can be argued that a Christian volunteers to follow Jesus, so therefore volunteers for His Army.

My point here is that the two armies offer similarities  and require similar conditions and rules to be successful.

We'll look in more detail in Part 2 tomorrow

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

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