AS A GOOD SOLDIER

The reading today presents to us the servant of God as a soldier who has been selected for active service. This soldier is not on leave, nor is he rehearsing on the parade ground, but is engaged in conflict on the battlefield. Under these conditions he must be prepared to endure hardship and be undistracted in his com­mitment. In addition, he must be motivated by an absolute allegiance to the one who selected him to be a soldier.

Throughout 2 Timothy chapter 2, we discover that the ser­vant of God is viewed from three perspectives. He is seen in relation to his master, his sphere of service and his reward. To help us appreciate these issues, Paul uses several metaphors, each one highlighting a particular facet of responsibility. Three of these metaphors occur in the opening six verses and the first is that of the soldier.

The Revised Version amends the beginning of verse 3 to read ‘suffer hardship with me’. Paul had already spoken of himself as a prisoner, 1. 8, and four verses later he writes, ‘For the which cause I also suffer these things’. Now he calls upon Timothy to accept his share of affliction ‘as a good soldier of Jesus Christ’. This request was not something that Timothy could have achieved by his own resources for he frequently suffered periods of ill health. To fulfil this responsibility he would need to be ‘strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus’, cf. v. 1.

Timothy was to demonstrate that he was a good soldier by his commitment to someone, the One who selected him to fight. In verse 4, he is to demonstrate that he is a good soldier by his detachment from something, the affairs of ‘this life’. Elsewhere in the New Testament, we are instructed to ‘love not the world’. The things of the world relate to human soci­ety as organized by the devil and set in opposition to God.

Here, Paul refers to the things of ‘life’. The things of life concern those issues that relate to everyday living and, as such, they are not inherently wrong. However, to be distracted from the conflict by these things is inconsistent with the requirements of one who is an active soldier on the battlefield.