Do You Fight For Christ?

"It takes a soldier who knows his orders / to walk the walk I'm supposed to walk." 

- Fix My Eyes by For King and Country
 

Right now, we are at war. 

Yeah, you probably don't see troops marching in the streets at the moment, and your house probably isn't being bombed—most of us aren't dealing with that situation at the moment, and we can be grateful for that while praying for those who are. But that's not the kind of warfare I'm talking about. 

No, I mean the kind that Paul wrote of when he said, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12.) 

We're at war with the devil, and if we're abiding in him, we're soldiers for Christ. I mean that in the most literal sense possible. I am a soldier—a girl who's taken an oath to defend Christ's cause, even if it costs her her life. 

If you're a Christian, you've taken that oath too. 

What does this mean? If we're soldiers, then what will that look like in our lives? 

 

 

Soldiers are strong

The training that soldiers in the United States Army go through in boot camp is brutal. Tests of physical strength, endurance, and mental fortitude, over the space of ten weeks. After that, they're qualified to fight for the United States—and, if necessary, die. 

There's a reason for all this training. The soldiers have to be prepared to face the intense physical and mental challenges of war. If they aren't, then they'd be worse than useless on the battlefield—and those aren't the sort of people we can depend on. This training is preparing them for the greater challenge later on. 

What does this look like for Christ's army? 

Well, we ought to be disciplined. American soldiers can do it—why can't we? Christ's kingdom lasts far longer than America ever will. 

What kind of discipline is this, though? It's easy to say "the Christian soldier should be disciplined," but it's harder to accurately identify what that means. 

Spiritual disciplines are extremely valuable as you seek to grow in your Christian walk. These include things like reading your Bible regularly, praying, memorizing Scripture, and seeking to serve the church. Doing these things will help you grow. It isn't magic—you can't just say a prayer and suddenly be the best Christian possible—but if you keep at it, it'll give you strength.

Spiritual disciplines are something that I've struggled with. It's not that I don't know how to do these things, it's that I often don't remember, which brings me to my next point: this is hard.

 

Growing in strength takes work.

The discipline that the soldiers undergo to make them strong is, well, difficult. 

Drills, over and over. Physically demanding challenges. Probably a lot of pain as the soldiers are pushed to the limits of what their body can do. 

That's not pleasant, is it? 

In the Christian walk, it's similar. Growing in these spiritual disciplines takes work. A whole lot of it. Do you think it's easy to live life as a Christian? Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble—it isn't. In fact, it's one of the hardest things we can do. 

Christian discipline is difficult. It's hard to make yourself get up to do your devotions, it's hard to keep praying for the same things over and over again when it feels like God isn't listening to you. It's even hard to go to church, for the simple reason that people often don't live up to our expectations. 

Don't expect it to be easy. If you close your computer after reading this article thinking that tomorrow you're going to start being the perfect Christian, then you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Because tomorrow, you'll try to do the things you promised yourself that you would—and you'll fail. And you'll give up, because you think you're fighting a losing battle. 

But that's just not true. 

What battle was ever won without blood, sweat, and tears? Maybe it feels like we're losing ours because we don't want to give those things.

 

Know your orders

All these things are good. But a disciplined soldier fighting for the wrong thing is worse than useless.

What good does it do you if you're the most clear-thinking person ever, but you don't seek to glorify God with your every action? 

None. 

What good does it do to pray every day if your heart isn't set on furthering God's kingdom? 

None. 

What good does it do if you show up to every worship service, and give half your income in tithing, if you don't really care about the body of Christ? 

You guessed it—none. 

Checking all the boxes isn't the point here. These spiritual disciplines are designed for us to help our faith to increase and our lives to be more godly, not some kind of legalistic school program. 

If you don't know why you're doing all these things, then doing them won't help you. Instead of growing, you'll become hyperfixated on the works instead of the heart behind them. 

So what's the point? What are the orders that we're supposed to know? 

"And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”" (Matthew 28:18-20)

That's what we're supposed to do. To spread the word of what Christ has done, and make disciples of the ones who listen. And Jesus is going to help us do it. 

So, what's the point of these spiritual disciplines? How do we become soldiers for Christ? 

By living lives transformed by the Gospel, and seeking to show the world how good God is. He's our General, and he's worth fighting for.