Strong in Grace

"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."

2 Timothy 2:3-7

The bond hearing for one of my late brother-in-law's accused murderers resulted in her release into the care of her parents.  While my husband and I were witnessing that difficult series of events, two inspectors showed up at my home demanding entry to check for children under an anonymous complaint they received that there was an illegal childcare operation being run out of our home.  Finally, a parent picking up her daughter from Bible study at my house that took place later that afternoon told me she didn't like the way one of my daughters answered the door.  Some days are filled with heartaches.

There is no doubt that it's hard to live in such a fallen world.  How then do I continue living for Christ under such conditions?

Soldier

My husband spent 24 years serving in the U.S. Army.  For a soldier, the mission is always uppermost his mind, and any distraction can keep him from completing that mission.

As a result, the Family Readiness Group was created to help support families by reducing stress, building family cohesion and promoting self-sufficiency that would cut down on problems that may spring up during deployments.  A worried soldier puts himself at risk on the battlefield.  Helping a soldier to stay focused on the mission gives him a better chance of doing his job well.

I, too, am a soldier.  My commander is Jesus Christ and my mission is to glorify God.  As a result, I must stay focused on that task, keeping distractions like arguments over unimportant matters, worries about things out of my control, or violations of my personal rights to a minimum.  That way, I can keep a single-minded focus on listening to God and following His lead.

I can live for Christ by keeping my attention on Christ and His mission.

Athlete

When I trained for bodybuilding competitions, I couldn't fool around.  My success during the competitions was mainly based on the preparations I made during the months before the big day.  While the judges made their decisions based on what they saw during the few minutes I spent on stage, they could tell if I put in enough time in training during the months prior to the competition by the kind of condition they saw before them.  An athlete must be well-disciplined in order to succeed.

One of the things that I didn't like about this sport was the amount of drug use involved in bodybuilding.  Those who took that risk were not playing by the rules and while they may come into a competition with a better chance of winning, they always had to worry about being tested and disqualified.

As a follower of Christ, I am considered to be like an athlete competing for the victor's crown.  I must be well disciplined in my attentiveness to the way I live my life.  If I let a solitary curse word slip now and then, it soon becomes a stronghold.  If I rationalize my lax attitude toward the tax code, I soon find myself in over my head.  If I let my guard down in front of my family, showing them a lack of respect in the way I treat them, that poor attitude soon creeps into other parts of my life.  The result is that I bring dishonor to the name of Christ.

I can live for Christ by staying disciplined and paying attention to His teachings.

Farmer

I love picking tomatoes out of my garden. Before I get to harvest the fruit, however, I must put in a lot of work.  Therefore, I must spend hours in the back-breaking job of hoeing the hard, compact soil.  Then I mix in mulch, making sure it is of the right consistency to support the plant.  After smoothing out the soil, I mark the plot into rows and carefully sow each seed to the proper depth, according to their type.  Once the seeds are planted, then comes of the job of keeping weeds to a minimum and moisture at just the right level.  Once all that is done, the only thing left to do is wait for the seeds to sprout.

As a follower of Christ, I am like a farmer who carries out my part and then lets God finish the job.  That means I might put in a lot of hard work with very little, if any, results.  I could work as a Sunday School teacher for years without seeing any child come to Christ.  Or, there might be hours of labor I spend on countless projects meant to show the love of Christ but I never hear one word of thanks or appreciation.  Other times I could continue to carry out a certain job, never knowing if anyone benefits from my work. I can take assurance in the fact that God finishes what He starts.  (Philippians 1:6)

I can live for Christ by working hard where God has placed me, trusting that I will one day share in the fruit of my labor.

It is difficult to stay true to the One who loves me when the world around me is tearing me down.  It is possible, however, to retain the single-mindedness of a soldier on a mission, the discipline of an athlete training to win the prize, and hard-working spirit of a farmer who knows her efforts are not in vain.  In this way, I can stay strong in the grace of God.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can keep from distraction by all that worries me.

How do I slack in my attempts to stay true to Christ?

When am I discouraged when my efforts don't seem to be making a difference?