THE ULTIMATE ROCKY

I write most of my essays to fortify me in the truth. However, I trust that they will also speak to others. This is also true for this essay.

I want to focus on the fact that we are called to be soldiers for the truth, solders for our Lord. Nevertheless, to be honest with myself, I carry many weaknesses, scars, and insecurities. How then can I be a faithful soldier for the Lord, when my own needs are crying out for satisfaction?

God had instructed His successor to Moses, Joshua, to be “strong and courageous,” but how? I am filled with fears to the point of suffocation. The first thing we must recognize is that we have been divinely appointed as a royal ambassador of the Lord of all creation and truth. As the Lord had informed Joshua, an ambassador must be faithful to the One who has commissioned him:

·       Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:6-8 ESV)

How are we to be “strong and courageous?” By entrusting ourselves to the Lord! How? By keeping His commandments, His Word! This is the very thing that Jesus requires of His soldiers (John 14:21-24).

Paul elaborated on what it means to be a soldier. We have to be focused on the mission. It has to be our top priority and goal:

·       Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

A soldier should be willing to endure hardship, even if it might require death. I love the “Rocky” movies, especially the first one. Sylvester Stallone had said:

·       “It ain’t how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving on.” https://www.facebook.com/LifeStories.Goalcast/videos/211793569593065/ (A Must-see video)

Rocky is my hero. When I know I’m a soldier for the Lord, I can endure blows and temptations that, ordinarily, would cause me to double-over in pain, and send me into hiding.

A soldier should not get “entangled in civilian pursuits.” This doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t earn a living and provide for his family. However, these pursuits should not utterly control him to the point of compromising his primary commission. Instead, when our first devotion is to serve the Lord, He will take care of our other needs. This is why Jesus said:

·       “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33)

What does it mean to be a faithful soldier? It means to focus on our commission. Therefore, God told Joshua that he had to mediate on this commission “day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

When our focus is upon our own needs and desires, we fall before the tyrants of anxiousness and fear. Instead, we are to adopt Jesus’ vision:

·       …looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

Jesus is the ultimate Rocky!