What do soldier,s athletes and farmers have in common? Discipline. Soldiers go through drills day in and day out. They want to be battle ready. Athletes undergo strict training so they can compete in the race. Farmers work from the rising of the sun until it sets, patiently toiling in hope of a bountiful harvest.
Believers in Jesus are to be like soldiers, athletes and farmers. That´s what the apostle Paul tells Timothy and us in 2 Timothy 2:3-6. Firstly, you´re a soldier. Recognise you´re always in a war, and don´t be surprised when you suffer. Expect it. Secondly, you´re an athlete. You´ve got to play by the rules to win the prize. Thirdly, you´re a farmer. The guy who works the hardest gets to be in line first to get the fruit.
Thas not all. Paul tells us to be "good soldier[s] of Christ Jesus" (v.3). The Greek word for "good" is kalos which means noble or excellent. In other words, we´re not to be just dutiful soldiers, we´re to be excellent soldiers who lead a disciplined life so as to please our Commanding Officer, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And like an athlete going for the gold, we give ourselves fully to spiritual training. We´re compelled to win, not just finish the race. We discipline ourselves and embrace hard years of effort so that we´re the best we can be, honing the gifts and talents God has given us to His glory.
Additionally, Christians are to be like hardworking farmers. The adjective hardworking used here means to work to the point of exhaustion. Christians work hard because they trust in God´s promises. He patiently works with us until success comes.
The question is : What kind of soldier, athlete or farmer will you and I be? - Poh Fang Chia
Read
2 Timothy 2:1-13
You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs - he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor´s crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God´s word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
Here is a trustworthy saying :
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
1 Corinthians 9:7-25
Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn´t the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses : "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn´t he?`Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn´t we have it all the more?
But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. Don´t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this : that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I become like one not having the law (though I am not free from God´s law but am under Christ´s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
Question to Ponder
Make a list of all the spiritual disciplines ( such as prayer and reading God´s Word) you can think of. Which ones will you adopt in order to be a good soldier, a champion athlete or a hardworking farmer for God?
**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue
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