James 1:2-4
Consider it
pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know
that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish
its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
When I was growing up, it was common for little boys to play army. I was no exception. Sometimes I would play army with my brothers or boys in the neighborhood. Most of the time I played army with my toy soldiers. At that point in my life, it was a game. I would set up my soldiers as opposing armies and then do battle. When I was done, I would collect up all of my soldiers and put them away for another day.
When I
entered college, I was enrolled in Army ROTC. In one way you could say that I
was playing army at a new level. On one occasion we are taken out for a weekend
of military training. We wore real uniforms and carried real rifles, albeit
with blank ammunition. On our first night, we were ordered to go out on night
patrol. It was reported that “the enemy” was nearby, and it was our job to
locate them. I was given the responsibility of being the point man for the
column. As we progressed along the prescribed route, I realized that we were
moving into an area that was perfect for an ambush. I went to the officer in
charge and told him what I had observed. I suggested that we leave the gully
and go up on the ridge to proceed, which is what we did. By doing so, we were
able to flank our enemy and win the exercise.
My army
experience ended with two years of ROTC, but several of my classmates continued
on to basic training and eventually military service. The point of basic
training is to turn young men into soldiers. This includes physical fitness,
learning particular skills, and above all, learning to obey orders. In a way,
basic training is the next level of playing army.
The
real test for a soldier is when he or she is actually deployed into combat. It
is at that point that all of the playing army becomes very real. If the soldier
has learned the lessons well, they will succeed. If they have not, they will
fail.
The
experience of “playing army” is much like the pathway to spiritual maturity.
When a person first places their faith in Christ, there is an initial period of
joy, relief, and excitement. The Christian life seems easy and even fun. The
person gains a new perspective that helps them to see life in new ways. The
spiritual successes are many and the failures are few. Unfortunately, there is
a misconception that this is the way it will always be. It is like a child
saying, “When I grow up, I will be able to do whatever I want to and no one
will tell me what to do.” We all know that that is not true.
Just as
the realities of growing up bring new challenges, so does our spiritual journey.
The initial stage of spiritual infancy doesn’t last. God soon moves the new
believer into spiritual basic training. He allows them to begin to face new
challenges which test their faith and their resolve. Over time these challenges
get progressively more difficult. There are fewer outright victories and more
obvious failures. But with each failure, God corrects and instructs the person
so that they will understand what to do the next time they face that challenge.
As the
person’s spiritual muscles develop, God begins to give them more important
assignments. The risk level goes up, but so does the reward. There comes a
point when a person stops playing at being a Christian and really becomes one.
It is not that their original faith was false, it was just immature. In order
to attain a mature faith, a person must face the real challenges and tests of
life and learn to follow God’s lead. The best, most well-trained soldiers know
that in the heat of battle they must obey orders. There is no time to question
or discuss. They must trust those in authority in the moment. The same is true
in our Christian life. As we grow in our faith, we often struggle with God’s
commands. Some of them don’t make sense to us. We want to question and discuss.
But there comes a time when God deploys us into battle. At that point we have
to trust God. We have to learn to obey no matter what. For it is in obedience
that we find victory.
We are
all at some level of “playing army” on their journey of faith. None of use has
come to the end of our training. But we can trust God that wherever we are in
our training, He will be there to guide us. His goal is that we would become
fully mature followers of His. Real maturity doesn’t mean that life will always
be smooth sailing. With maturity comes responsibility, challenge, and reward. In
the military, green troops are given the easy, safe assignments. It is the
elite troops that are given the truly significant ones. On this spiritual
journey, immature believers are given the easy, safe assignments. It is those
who have been trained who are entrusted with the hardest assignments.
In
life, we have a significant choice to make. We can be content to spiritually “play
army” or we can embrace the challenges of becoming real soldiers for the cause
of Christ.
Hebrews 12:7-11
Endure hardship
as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by
his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline),
then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had
human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should
we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for
a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that
we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but
painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace
for those who have been trained by it.
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