Soldier. Athlete. Farmer.

Another sweet thing from the message at Salt last week...

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is a hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 2 Tim. 2:3-7

Soldier--The soldier of an army has only 1 job. His job is only to do what he is commanded. He doesn't need to win the war, He just needs to obey the commands of his officer. His prize is pleasing his officer. 

Athlete-- The athlete has only 1 job. His job is to play by the rules. By playing by the rules his goal is to win.

Farmer--The farmer has only 1 job. His job is to produce a harvest. He works all year round in order to reap the harvest of his work. His harvest is dependent upon how much he puts into his field/crops.

So, as believers we are to identify our lives with these 3 figures. 

1. Do we, like a good soldier, have our eyes and ears fixed on the Lord... seeking only to please Him? The danger with being a good soldier is distractions. Distractions take our attention and affection away from the the Lord (civilian pursuits of this day--> relationships, money, idols, busy-ness, etc).
2. Do we, like a good athlete, follow the rules to the game? Are we obedient in our walk with the Lord, or do we look for every short-cut. It says the athlete isn't crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
3. Do we, like a good farmer, work hard and put in hours day in and day out getting to know, serve, and please our God? Or do we give Him the grunt hour, or minutes, of our day or even week while expecting a great harvest of fruit in our lives. It just doesn't work like that!

God I desperately need you. I need your grace to cover my natural tendencies to become distracted, disobedient, lazy and quick to find short-cuts in my walk with You. Fill me with desire to walk uprightly with zeal for you.