Good morning. Today’s devotion is taken from 2
Timothy 2:1-13.
Being a good soldier for Jesus Christ
At the time of writing this letter, Paul was in
prison on the charge of bring a criminal and was chained. Paul was writing this
letter to young Timothy encouraging him to press on in proclaiming the truth of
the Gospel. Hence, Paul wrote, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus
(V.1). He reminds Timothy that it is his duty to testify to the truth of the
resurrected Christ who conquered death (v.8). It is interesting and very apt
that Paul uses the metaphor of being a soldier as similar to being a disciple
of Christ. Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier in Christ Jesus. No
one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries
to please his commanding officer. (v.3-v.4). Being a soldier for Jesus Christ
means we should focus on Jesus and sacrifice for Jesus.
Sacrifice
Being a soldier also means we have to give up many
things and not get entangled with worldly things. We must do all that is
pleasing to Christ, our commanding officer. In this life we will encounter
hardships but good soldiers do not give up their mission to please Christ if
some hardship came before them. In Romans 12:1, Paul says to offer yourselves
as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. To present our bodies as a living sacrifice means
we must fully surrender to God. This
means we must not be conformed to the patterns of this world. Our mission is to be as much like Christ as
possible and to glorify Him in all that we do.
Focus on Jesus
We must be focused and obey the commands of Christ,
our commanding officer. When a soldier leaves for his deployment, he leaves his
family, friends and all material possession to focus on serving his country. Being
a good soldier for Christ does not mean that we cannot carry out worldly tasks
and make a living. Nor does it necessarily mean we have to leave our families
or friends but in all that we do, we must demonstrate the love of Christ and
the Gospel in us. We must not let worldly affairs interfere with our duty to
Jesus. (v.4). Despite Paul’s suffering, Paul was encouraging Timothy to endure
everything for the sake of the elect so that others may obtain salvation (v.10)
Paul was so focused and obedient to Jesus that he would not give up his
ministry even when he was in prison. Paul
was imitating Jesus, who fulfilled God’s plan “to seek and to save the
lost” by enduring hardship and suffering.
Jesus knew God’s plan for Him was to die on the cross. Jesus was faithful to His mission. Just as Jesus
endured the cross, let’s pray for strength to be faithful and endure everything
for Jesus.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we acknowledge that we need
strength from you to carry out your plans and purposes. We do not want to be
distracted by worldly affairs but to focus on you. We want to be good soldiers
for you and to be great athletes who are able to run this race with endurance.