'The Christian Soldier' by Edmund Mensah

I  am proud to say that I was a Military Police in the Ghana Armed Forces for a very longtime. I enjoyed the years I spent training to be in the army. The life of discipline in the army has helped me in my walk with the Lord. I maintain that military training was adapted from the principles in the word of God.

I was inspired to join the military by a man I highly respected.  After passing all the necessary requirements, I was accepted to basic training.  I went in as an inexperienced young adult and came out a changed man.  I served as a Military Police for a number of years and have been involved in many interesting and difficult assignments including serving as a UN Peace Keeper. 

 The Apostle Paul rightly stated in 2 Timothy 2:3, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." The Christian is in every sense a soldier.  The Bible says many are called, but few are chosen.  I started basic training with a great number of people, but only a handful graduated.  Christ died for all mankind, but how many people truly press in to obtain the prize of the high calling? 

The army has a purpose in putting recruits through basic training.  The recruit is put through vigorous physical & mental training designed to drain the body of toxins, excess body weight,  build endurance and sharpen mental awareness.  You learn survival skills, how to read maps, different military tactics used to  mobilize humans, how to attack and how to defend, etc.

The similarities of the ordinary soldier and the Christian soldier:

The Army's mission: To turn raw, undisciplined youth into skilled warriors, militant followers, good leaders and true workers.  Likewise Christ has a mission -  to train men and women who will become 'fishers of men.'  In order to be effective in His army, you must go through God's boot camp. 

High moral standards - A soldier represents his/her country at all times, therefore we were expected to be on our best behavior even in times of great difficulties.  We were easily identified from our uniforms.  The Christian is exhorted to put on Christ.   In Galatians 4:19, Paul says, "...in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you".  We are new creatures; we are to be so filled with Christ so that our old nature completely disappears.

Loyalty & Obedience - A soldier has to be loyal to his colleagues and to his country.  It is absolutely impossible for an army with disloyal and disobedient soldiers to exist.  A soldier who is disloyal or disobedient is swiftly and severely dealt with.    The Christian army cannot be effective without loyalty and obedience either.  Jesus said, 'He who is not with Me is against Me."  You cannot straddle the fence.  We must make the choice to be loyal and obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ to the end. 

Initiative - The soldier must show good initiative, be quick and have the ability to make sound decisions under pressure because an unwise decision can determine the outcome of a battle.  A skilled Christian soldier who is in tune with the Holy Spirit is always a step ahead of the game.  The Spirit of God leads us always in the path of victory.

Alert -It is deadly for a soldier to loose focus in battle.  You must be alert at all times to avoid the booby traps the enemy sets, for you never know where the enemy is hiding.  The Christian soldier must also be vigilant for the adversary seeks whom he may devour. 

Weapon handling - Recruits could have a second chance to retake every course except weapon handling.  If you failed at this, you were out.  The highlight of military training is the ability to handle weapons.  You had to be perfect.  The course included not only the handling of weapons, but care and maintenance, skill and safety education.  We had to excel and make our teacher proud in this particular area.  You could not leave your weapon anywhere.  Once a weapon was assigned to you, it could never leave your sight.  You had to be able to account for it at any time.  We ate, walked and slept with our weapons.  Misuse and abuse of weapons carried with it a stiff penalty.  The Christian soldier also has a weapon, the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.  Jesus our example rebuked Satan 3 times with the Word of God and he had no choice, but to flee from His presence.  The Christian must also become skilled in the use of God's word to destroy the work of Satan.  Every Christian lives in a war zone and we need the word to protect ourselves, as well as set others free.  We must not use the Word for filthy gain or to intimidate others.

No room for failure - For the well prepared soldier, there was no room for failure under any circumstances.  You have been prepared to survive in the harshest conditions. Dying on the battlefield is not failure; it is honorable and part of the job.  On the other hand your corpse would be court-martialed if you died as a result of hunger.   The army promises you that it will do all it can to bring you home whether dead or alive.  For the well prepared Christian, the Bible says, "To die is gain."  We must not fear death when we are in the service of the King.   There is no room for failure for, "We have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony and we do not love our lives unto death."

Remember that there's nothing new under the sun.  Finding the opposite sex attractive did not originate from you, you have just discovered it.  It began with God when he created Adam and Eve for each other.  
Adam had all the animals God created living with him in the Garden of Eden, yet God said that none of these animals proved to be a fit companion to him.  So God decided to make a being who resembled Adam, yet a little different.  He made Eve in such a form that she would appeal to Adam sexually.  When Adam saw her, he said this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.