Many years ago when I was a teenager attending a church summer camp, I heard a message that has continued to echo in my soul. The message was taught by a former Green Beret, who talked about how the Christian life is not for sissies and outlined what it takes to live an effective, successful Christ-like life. He used these 3 tough sounding words: Disciplined, Dedicated, and Diligent. He then said a Christian must be as Diligent as a Farmer, as Dedicated as a soldier, and as Disciplined as an athlete. When so looked at, the Christian life is hard work. Think about why a Farmer must be diligent. Every spring a farmer has to be ready to put his crops in the field. He can’t let last years failed crop deter him from planting this season. He can’t wait too long to plant or plant too soon. The farmer must be diligent in caring for his crop so that bugs and weeds do not corrupt. He must diligently do all that he can to prepare for a successful harvest, which doesn’t happen by accident. Then think about the word dedication. Our soldiers are highly respected for their dedication. They are so dedicated to their cause they will put their lives on the line for what they believe in. A soldier is all or nothing. He knows what he is fighting for and is willing to pay the ultimate price if that is what it takes to protect and provide for his goal. And then, last, there is discipline – the discipline of an athlete. This summer we watched the achievement of the Olympic athletes. We have seen what it takes to compete on a world stage: swimmers who swim 8 hours a day; runners who run every day; gymnasts who train every day for 4 years for this one chance to be an Olympian. Everyone wants to be the great football or baseball star on television until they realize the disciplined life these guys live. None of them would be successful with out the discipline and work behind the accomplishment.
How does this compare to the Christian life and walk? Well if you have not noticed my friends, Christians have a lot of harvest failures, where we share Jesus with others and get knocked down or scorned — but we have to be willing to get up and “be diligent” to share again with others who Jesus is to us. We have to be like the farmer knowing, if we keep planting and diligently tending our crop, we will eventually enjoy the fruits of our labor. And the harvest is so worth the risk of crop failure. And yes we must be like the soldier — so dedicated to our cause that we are willing to die for it. If we are not we will fail to do the work because “it will get too hard” or “the price will be too high to pay”. Are we okay with being labeled a “Jesus freak,” a “religious fanatic,” or in today’s language “intolerant” and “close-minded” or an “ignorant conservative”? Are we disciplined like an athlete in our pursuit of Jesus? Do we study His word and are we ready to share our faith with others? Personally, I think a lot of Christians have spent plenty of time in Bible studies and are ready for their moment to shine and share. Are you ready to serve God?
The background verses for this topic are 2 Timothy 2:3-6
“And I pray that we all run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1
encouragingservants 