by Recently my husband gave a message on II Timothy 2. He covered many aspects of the chapter including 2:3-4 and soldiers. One sub-point that he mentioned was that over the years many soldiers have gone on to receive medals of great honour because of heroic acts they did on the warfront. Through his thought on medals, God gave me a separate thought, of which I discussed with my husband later.
II Timothy 2:3-4 “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
Here is the thought God gave me:
No man whoever won a medal of honour was in the battle alone. He was with a group of other soldiers and because of their comradery, companionship, and constant encouragement, when the time came, one soldier would have an unprecedented strength to ‘charge’ forward and achieve a great victory. Many times, we know, this great victory would even mean the soldier’s death. The soldier’s family would get the medal in honour to commemorate the great victory for which the soldier gave his life.
Here are a few facts about the groups that the US Army sends into battle:
- Squad is 6-10 soldiers
- Platoon is 3-4 Squads (18-50 soldiers)
- Company, Battery, or Troop is 3-4 Platoons (60-200 soldiers)
- Battalion is 3-5 Companies (100-1,000 soldiers)
- Brigade or Regiment is 3-5 Battalions (2,000-5,000 soldiers)
- Division is 3 Brigades (10,000-15,000 soldiers)
- Corps is 2+Divisions (20,000-45,000 soldiers)
- Field Army is 50,000+ soldiers
*Notice there is no unit of just one soldier.
On the spiritual side:
First – The General
We, as Christian soldiers for our Lord, can’t go into battle alone. Yes, we will always have the Lord on our side. He’s our General. The soldiers in battle have the General on their side as well but he isn’t with them, face-to-face, and side-by-side, in the battle. He watches from a safe position so he can manage and guide the army. Soldiers themselves are the ones getting the cuts, bullet shots, and war wounds – not the general. Our Lord, our General, walked on this earth. He knows what if feels like to be beaten and bruised. The actual soldiers on the battlefront are the ones going through the war together while the General, our Lord, is currently overseeing the battle from his throne in heaven.
All soldiers have — are each other. They can tear down, or they can build up.
Second – A soldier’s responsibility to himself…
is not to “entangleth himself with the affairs of this life”
Now a soldier has some responsibilities for himself. He needs to be around other soldiers. If the battalion is not in actual war but in another area of the war scene. One soldier can’t just decide “I’m running out to battle all on my own regardless of what the others are doing.”
Now a days, too many soldiers are trying to go it alone. One example is online services. Many soldiers are going it alone. Online services are great for when someone can’t get into church. I’ve been sick and been thankful I could catch services from home. But online services can’t replace the encouragement and strength Christians get from actually being around one another. When I walk out of church, I feel as if I can take on this sinful world. I don’t feel that when I sit at home and watch online services.
Third – A soldier’s responsibilities to other soldiers
Hebrews 3:13 “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
Soldiers have responsibilities to each other. When Christians do come to church, other Christians/soldiers need to be exhorting and lifting up one another. Soldiers are responsible for strengthening one another. That is a Biblical truth that can’t be ignored. Christians need to be in their Bible, in church, praying for one another, getting to know one another and helping and uplifting one another.
I don’t think it takes much common sense to realize that if a soldier has earned a medal of honour, behind him was a group of soldiers that were his backbone and strength. They encouraged him to push out into blood bathed war and achieve a great victory. All soldiers have times when they are shaking in their boots. What pushes them on? Strength from the other soldiers around them. Strength to suck it up and push forward regardless of the outcome.
Christian soldiers today are not getting the encouragement they need to keep pushing forward. They are retreating in countless numbers. I’ve heard it said, and all too sad, I’ve witnessed it as well. “Christians are known for beating up their own wounded.” This is heartbreaking and should not be. A real soldier shot and bleeding on the battlefield would not have his soldier friends come out and beat further wounds upon him. At the expense of their own lives, they’d run out and carry him to safety.
What has happened to cause this horrendous blood bath in the Christian arena of other Christian soldiers beating upon their own wounded? Some are too busy to notice a friend needs help. Many are too busy gossiping about a Christian soldier. Some Christians are just downright bold in their approach and their communications directly to one another are hurtful and demeaning. There are so many ways we can tear others down. Satan is sneaky.
Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
All I can say is that the Spiritual war is real, and Satan is manipulating way more Christians than they realize.
Funny, but no so funny, is this true story from a long time ago. There was a man in the ministry. For years he received very little exhortation from higher ranking soldiers. He kept on and persevered for decades thanks to soldiers of lower rank that keep him encouraged. One day, a higher ranked soldier contacted the man in the ministry. The man recognized the phone number and got excited about hearing from this higher ranked soldier, until he answered the phone and heard, “I’m just calling because I heard a news comment somewhere with your name that said you were dead. Are you still alive?”
In summary:
- Our General is overseeing the spiritual warfare.
- Soldiers can’t go it alone. They need to be around other soldiers for strengthening.
- Soldiers must uplift, strengthen, and encourage one another for the spiritual battle we fight every day.
Keep this final thought in mind. The Bible doesn’t fully explain all our rewards in heaven. It explains some in detail. God tells us enough to wet our appetite that there are rewards and crowns.
Ponder this:
If one of our Christian soldiers has a great victory — maybe a soul saved — we could have a reward in heaven as well for building up and strengthening that soldier to go on for the Lord. Or we could lose a reward for tearing down a soldier that never reached his full potential for the Lord and never saw a soul saved.
People have more of an impact on one another than they realize.
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