One of the grand old hymns of the Church is “Onward Christian Soldiers.” The hymn writer must have seen the theme of his poem in almost every book of the Scripture. Again and again the challenge comes to fight the good fight, be a soldier for the Lord.

We now have a reminder of what it means to be a good soldier. First of all a good soldier must endure difficulties. Warfare is a symbol of struggle against the enemy and the difficulties that struggle entails. The Israelites went to war with full assurance that God would hear their prayers and grant them victory. This assurance was based on their obedience to Him (2 Chron 6:34-35). Our warfare is a spiritual one, but it too is fought in the power of God, with the same full assurance that He is able to deliver us (2 Cor 10:2-3).

Often times we do not seem to be fighting the good fight of faith. We become so involved in the business of life that we have no time for the battle. A good soldier never becomes so involved in his own life that he cannot obey the call of his captain. There is the constant struggle for Christian soldiers to openly declare their loyalty. We must maintain control of our life and not allow life to control us. If we are not careful in this we will never fight the good fight of faith. If indeed our loyalty is to the Saviour, we will obey His call to service over the call of life’s activities.

We have been chosen to be soldiers in the battle for righteousness and the souls of men. Let us be faithful to our calling.