Soldiers of the Cross
You know, I was surprised to see that there were multiple definitions for the word SOLDIER. A soldier can specifically be related to a person serving in the military, describe a type of insect, be a part of a building, or even identify some sort of British food I’ve never in my life heard of. But I think perhaps my favorite use of the word soldier is not as a noun, but as a verb. Soldiering is related to persevering.
I can’t imagine it any way when we are called to “deny yourself and take up your cross” (Luke 9:23). What kind of perseverance is needed to take up our cross and follow Jesus daily? I like to think that I have that kind of fortitude. You know, the kind that a soldier has when he steps into battle and faces the enemy lines. Truth be told, however, when things become a little uncomfortable, I find myself retreating back behind those front lines. I’ll let someone else fight that battle.
I have excuses in spades:
1. I’m not smart enough.
2. I don’t know the Word well enough.
3. I’m not trained for this.
4. I’m too busy.
5. I’m a woman.
6. If I say what I think, then the people in the world will think less of me.
I also know the defense for each of these excuses:
1. Moses had a speech impediment. David was small. The Twelve Apostles weren’t all the most learned men out there.
2. If I don’t know the Word well enough, I should spend more time in the Word.
3. I don’t exactly have to be trained for God to use me.
4. Really? Too busy? I spent X hours on social media this week.
5. So were Mary, Martha, Mary Magdalene, Miriam, and Lydia, to name a few.
6. The things of the world are fleeting. I learned that the hard way in 2019.
The fact of the matter is God isn’t looking for someone else to fight his battles. That’s part of the gift of being his elect. As God’s elect, we are meant to soldier on. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised in John 14. The Holy Spirit speaks the words we aren’t smart, trained, understanding, or ready enough to speak on our own. When we are “Soldiers of the Cross”, it means moving our pride, ambition, and self-centeredness to the side and letting the God who created the universe work through us. It also means that we will be uncomfortable, out of our element, and often in pain. That is the work of the Holy Spirit sanctifying us.
I think perhaps sanctification is what scares us the most. Sanctification is molding us to become true soldiers of the cross, defenders of the faith, and conforming us to look more like Jesus every day. It’s similar to the way the Army takes a recruit in. They put them through grueling training, dress them the same, and mold them into a soldier. During this work, sometimes we see men and women drop away to never return. They weren’t Army people. We see some work from within to destroy. They, too, weren’t Army people. The true soldiers, the ones who face those front lines and put their lives in the hands of their brothers and sisters, are molded so that they trust one another, but more than that, they trust and follow the commands of the one who outranks them. Each soldier still has a part of himself and herself on that line, but they are molded little by little, through pain, to look like each other and the General who is calling all the commands.
I’ve never been in the Army, but I can see a youth who went to the Army only to be completely changed in mannerisms when they are home from Basic Training. If we are true soldiers of the cross, we look different, act different, and continue to follow the commands of the One who knows the big picture. Unlike a person in the Army, however, our General doesn’t make mistakes. He knows the end of the war. And when the battle is over, we will behold him, and we will be like him.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
The strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle,
The next the victor's song.
To those who vanquish evil
A crown of life shall be;
They with the King of Glory
Shall reign eternally.
I can’t imagine it any way when we are called to “deny yourself and take up your cross” (Luke 9:23). What kind of perseverance is needed to take up our cross and follow Jesus daily? I like to think that I have that kind of fortitude. You know, the kind that a soldier has when he steps into battle and faces the enemy lines. Truth be told, however, when things become a little uncomfortable, I find myself retreating back behind those front lines. I’ll let someone else fight that battle.
I have excuses in spades:
1. I’m not smart enough.
2. I don’t know the Word well enough.
3. I’m not trained for this.
4. I’m too busy.
5. I’m a woman.
6. If I say what I think, then the people in the world will think less of me.
I also know the defense for each of these excuses:
1. Moses had a speech impediment. David was small. The Twelve Apostles weren’t all the most learned men out there.
2. If I don’t know the Word well enough, I should spend more time in the Word.
3. I don’t exactly have to be trained for God to use me.
4. Really? Too busy? I spent X hours on social media this week.
5. So were Mary, Martha, Mary Magdalene, Miriam, and Lydia, to name a few.
6. The things of the world are fleeting. I learned that the hard way in 2019.
The fact of the matter is God isn’t looking for someone else to fight his battles. That’s part of the gift of being his elect. As God’s elect, we are meant to soldier on. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised in John 14. The Holy Spirit speaks the words we aren’t smart, trained, understanding, or ready enough to speak on our own. When we are “Soldiers of the Cross”, it means moving our pride, ambition, and self-centeredness to the side and letting the God who created the universe work through us. It also means that we will be uncomfortable, out of our element, and often in pain. That is the work of the Holy Spirit sanctifying us.
I think perhaps sanctification is what scares us the most. Sanctification is molding us to become true soldiers of the cross, defenders of the faith, and conforming us to look more like Jesus every day. It’s similar to the way the Army takes a recruit in. They put them through grueling training, dress them the same, and mold them into a soldier. During this work, sometimes we see men and women drop away to never return. They weren’t Army people. We see some work from within to destroy. They, too, weren’t Army people. The true soldiers, the ones who face those front lines and put their lives in the hands of their brothers and sisters, are molded so that they trust one another, but more than that, they trust and follow the commands of the one who outranks them. Each soldier still has a part of himself and herself on that line, but they are molded little by little, through pain, to look like each other and the General who is calling all the commands.
I’ve never been in the Army, but I can see a youth who went to the Army only to be completely changed in mannerisms when they are home from Basic Training. If we are true soldiers of the cross, we look different, act different, and continue to follow the commands of the One who knows the big picture. Unlike a person in the Army, however, our General doesn’t make mistakes. He knows the end of the war. And when the battle is over, we will behold him, and we will be like him.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
The strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle,
The next the victor's song.
To those who vanquish evil
A crown of life shall be;
They with the King of Glory
Shall reign eternally.
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