Fight the Good Fight

"You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 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."
                                                                                                      2 Timothy 2:1-4

As I read these verses this morning, I was struck by the wording. Here, Paul uses the familiar analogy of a soldier; though not always directly. The comparison of a soldier happens to be one of my favorites, probably because I enjoy adventure stories, and heroes of honor and valour. But like I said before, these verses just sort of struck me this morning.

 be strong: A soldier cannot be faint-hearted in the moment of battle. He must be strong. For the Christian, a battle is constantly raging. A christian cannot lose heart for a moment. (Even though sometimes, okay, alot of times =) we do). But the great thing is, in battle, we don't have to rely on our own strength to fight the battle. Christ supplies us with His strength, and when we fight, His strength is in us, so we CAN be strong!

entrust these to faithful men: The word entrust brings to mind (for me, anyways) the image of something immensely  valuable. Some treasure that cannot be lost. Handing over this all-important treasure to another and saying, "Keep this safe". Paul speaks of the doctrines he's taught Timothy. He says entrust them to other men. Give them to others to be protected and guarded. But they are not to be given to any men, they are to be given to faithful men who will protect them, and teach them to others. As Christians, we are to guard these things (the doctrines) with everything; like a faithful soldier; make sure they are not tampered with. But we are also to share them with others.

Suffer hardship... as a good soldier of Christ Jesus: A good soldier will endure hardship for his cause. Think of the soldiers at Valley Forge. A good soldier endures to the end, sacrifices what needs to be sacrificed. Endurance. They suffer for their lord. We are soldiers of Christ and we are to suffer willingly for our Lord.

No soldier in active service entangles himself ...: A soldier doesn't burden himself with unnecessary concerns. In the heat of battle, his mind must be clear, so he knows what to do. So a wise soldier, who never knows when he will be called to fight, won't burden himself with the extra cares of everyday life. We are always in battle. We cannot be concerned with the cares of the world. To do so would only serve to distract us, and perhaps cost us the battle.

so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier: Every soldier desires to please the one who enlisted him: his captain, and further up, his king. But right here I'm going to stick with the image of captain, because that seems more personal. A soldier wants to please his captain, and when he does, the captain feels a sense of pride in this soldier. When the soldier is praised by the captain, it's a feeling of, well, rather hard to describe, but I assume you know what it feels like to be praised. Not flattered, praised. That is what the soldier feels upon pleasing his captain. Our Captain is Christ. We live to please Him. Every Christian soldier longs to hear "Well done My good and faithful servant." One could just as well insert "soldier" for "servant" and it would mean the same thing. Let us live and fight in such a way as to please our Captain.