2 Timothy 2:3 (AMP)
“Take with me your share of hardship [passing through the difficulties which you are called to endure], like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”
Right from the time Jesus began to call and choose His disciples, as recorded in the Gospels, He’s been raising them to not just be ordinary men but men who command power and have authority both in words and personality because being a part of the Kingdom of God means being an ambassador of the Kingdom, one who has been enlisted in God’s army to fight against the kingdoms of this world and their operations.
Apostle Paul reiterated to Timothy that he must endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ. Truth be told, hardship cannot be removed from our journey as believers. The Gospel of comfort is false and does not fully encapsulate the essence of our salvation. Christ faced the cross and endured persecution and death; the early disciples also had their own share of suffering for the sake of Christ. Where then does the Gospel of comfort find root? It’s rooted in the deception and misconception of who we are as believers.
Being a Christian means you are a soldier of Christ who has been graciously enlisted in His army. No soldier can be qualified to go to the battlefield without having learnt how to endure hardship and unpleasant situations. Dear Believer, you are a soldier of Christ, and this is part of your definition as a Christian, so if all you are looking for is comfort, things that will give you physical pleasure with no eternal value, then you are not living as a Christian.
Before the early disciples were called Christians, they had gone through times of hardship, yet they did not break under pressure. They stood for Christ as long as they were graced to do so. You cannot be an exception if you are indeed to be called a Christian. Christians find God’s purpose in their hardships and live to do His will at all costs. Are you a soldier of Christ?
Confession: I am a soldier of Christ; I endure hardship, and I do not break under pressure.
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