“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”-Micah 6:8
Welcome to the kingdom of heaven, the body of Christ, the flock of God. Your baptism marks the moment you died to sin and were raised to walk a new path with Jesus as your Lord. So what does that mean? How do I walk in the light and live to righteousness? I’m glad you asked! Let’s use the analogy of being a new soldier in the Army. You have taken the oath, cut your hair, and it’s time for basic training.
The first question we ask is, “Why do I need to be trained?” In the Lord’s service (or the Army): Any bad habits, that would prevent me from being fruitful to the mission, need to be removed. I have to learn a skill to be a useful part of my unit. And I have to generate a mindset to enable me to function under stress.
Remove Bad Habits: In Christianity, this process is called repentance. We are no longer civilians. We are servants of Christ. It takes time and effort to transform our hearts and minds, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,”-Romans 12:2. In the Lord’s army, these bad, worldly habits are called sins and any faithful soldier works to remove them from their life. Sin reduces troop morale, breaks down unit cohesion, and will eventually lead to a dishonorable discharge. Grateful Christians turn from sin because our Savior died to pay our penalty for those bad habits. It is the mission of my local unit (church) lead others out of sin, “How can we who died to sin still live in it?”-Romans 6:2. Sin weighs us down and makes us an ineffective soldier. Your soldier’s manual contains clear instruction on repentance (Mark 7:20-23; I Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 5:13-24, etc.).
Learn A Skill: An effective soldier understands the mission and contributes to its success. To understand our Christian cause, we must read our orders. At North Second Street, our Bible classes and worship services are designed for this purpose. A good soldier never misses formation. If you faithfully attend worship and commit to Bible study you will learn what the will of God is (Matthew 7:21). But don’t just sit around, get to work! Serve in worship, clean the building, start a Bible study, invite fellow Christians and newcomers to your home, encourage the straggling soldier, recruit new warriors for Christ. The Bible refers to this as being fruitful (Romans 12:4-13; Titus 3:8-11, 14; II Peter 1:5-8).
Generate A Mindset: Soldiers learn the “core values” of their branch of the military. The Army’s values are: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage1. In a report entitled Understanding the Military, 25-year Army veteran and behavioral health specialist Angela Halvorson says, “these values define how each service member lives his or her life, approaches every duty, and succeeds at every mission.” We must change who we are at heart and in Spirit. Read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Soften your heart to love God and people. Trust God. Look to Jesus. Set your mind on the Spirit. When the battle is joined, you will respond with courage because of who you have become like Christ in heart, soul, and mind.
1 Halvorson, Angela. “Understanding the Military: the Institution, the Culture, and the People.” samhsa.gov. 2010. [PDF document]. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/military_white_paper_final.pdf
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