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Soldiers, Athletes, and ...

           Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.  Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing 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. (II Timothy 2:3-7)

          Uh oh. Paul seems to be suggesting that our goal shouldn’t be to end our suffering. Instead, we should join with those who are suffering. That doesn’t mean the goal is masochism, though sometimes it seems like it. Instead, it’s like being a soldier. We’ve all heard about how tough training camp is for new recruits, but it doesn’t really let up once they’ve complete their initial training.

A friend of mine has a grandson in the Air Force, and she was advised that she should never communicate negatives. Things are going just fine, no matter what sort of hardships are being faced because the soldier/seaman/airman needs to not be stressed by what’s going on at home when he’s supposed to be stressing about protecting the nation.

Looking at the passage as a whole, our goal should be to please our Lord by obeying the rules and principles He advocates and if we do we’ll share in the outcome. But in each of the examples, 24/7 accountability and responsibility are required. One must bow to authority and live by the rules to get a share of the prize – no matter how hard the work is.

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