“Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus.
4 No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him.
5 And if anyone enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully (fairly, according to the rules laid down).
6 [It is] the hard-working farmer [who labours to produce] who must be the first partaker of the fruits.
7 Think over these things I am saying [understand them and grasp their application], for the Lord will grant you full insight and understanding in everything.”
Dear people of God, following the Lord Jesus Christ as a disciple is not as easy and straightforward as many Christians of today believe and understand.
We saw in the first part of the post on this topic that the Holy Bible, the infallible Word of God is the ONLY standard by which Christians and indeed the entire human race would be assessed by God at death and on Judgement Day sometime in the future.
For instance, every December when Christians commemorate the first entry into this world and birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the disciple of Christ is expected to be in Church to listen to God’s Word, worship and praise God to appreciate the enormity of God’s love for mankind through sending His only begotten Son into this world to redeem mankind from a sentence of eternal damnation that was hanging upon us as a result of what the devil did and deceived Adam and Eve into disobeying God’s commandment.
A good number of Christians believe this is just a season to relax, enjoy yourself with food, drinks, visit places of entertainment and have fun generally with friends and family.
While this may appear right, unfortunately, some Christians get lost in the euphoria of the celebration and end up committing unrighteous acts that are offensive to God.
A disciple and solider of Jesus Christ must never forget who he or she is and must, as we are told in today’s reading recall the laws of God to obey them in readiness for the reward God would give at the end of our stay here on earth.
No doubt the Lord Jesus Christ MUST be celebrated every day of our lives because He loves us and demonstrated this love here on earth as a human being and still does so every single day of our lives.
However, we MUST take time to reflect on His love for mankind so we can understand that without His coming into this world, it would have been terrible for all of mankind.
This is the very essence of Advent or the December season.
Take time to reflect on this message as you celebrate Christ during this season and don’t do what God says not to do in His Word, for that becomes sin.
Discuss with your family and friends about the significance of Jesus’ coming into this world using Scriptures, especially your children so you can co-operate with the Holy Spirit to groom them into mature Christians with deep understanding and appreciation for spiritual things over material things.
May the good Lord bless you as you heed His Word today, act on it and share with others in Jesus’ Most Righteous Name, Amen.
Gabriel Ama.
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