Engaging in the Battle

Have you ever felt like being a Christian wasn't what you thought it was supposed to be like? Or even, dare I say, thought that being a Christian was boring. Well, there have been times in my life where that is what it felt like, I just didn't get it. I would read about people who were "on fire" for Christ and had no idea what that meant. Or hear about people's "walks with God" going so well and wonder if I even had a walk.

Can anybody out there relate?

Well, I think that I now know what the problem has been, I think that I have gotten to the bottom of having a walk with God or being on fire for God. My problem had not been that I had not gotten it or that it was boring, it was that I had not put my feet to the ground.

Think about this. You are a soldier and you are in the desert in the middle of nowhere. All you do, all day, everyday, is train for the war. You have target practice to make sure that you will be able to hit your target when the time comes. You do all kinds of physical training to make sure that your body is in tip top condition for the running and crawling that you will have to endure. You eat the right foods, you read the right books, you do all the necessary training to be the best of the best when it comes to being a soldier. But, you never actually get to fight in the war, they never actually call your unit, and all you get to do is train. Over time the training starts to seem futile. You become complacent and even forget what you are doing in the middle of the desert and why you even started training in the first place.

Now, let's equate that with being a Christian. Everyday you wake up, and train for the battle, the spiritual battle. You wake in the morning and you pray. After you pray, you read the Bible. Throughout the day you try your best not to say anything that might be offensive. Then you go to your fellowship group where you interact with all your Christian friends and discuss what God has been teaching you. In your spare time you memorize scripture. Sunday comes, you go to church, making sure that you put your tithe in the offering plate, bowl or bucket. You do this day in and day out trying to become the best Christian that you can be. But, you never actually engage in the battle. Over time all this stuff seems to seem useless, you ask yourself where this abundant life is that Jesus talks about in the Bible? You become complacent and even forget why you became a Christian and even if you still believe in this whole thing at all.

Fortunately for us, we don't have to wait for our unit to be called to engage in the battle, because we already have been given orders by our Commanding Officer to fight. I know that you all know where I am going with this, that's right, Matthew 28:18-20.
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and one earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

What are you waiting for.....?