Am I a Soldier of the Cross?

Written by Isaac Watts

Am I a soldier of the cross,

A follower of the Lamb,

And shall I fear to own His cause,

Or blush to speak His Name?

Must I be carried to the skies

On flowery beds of ease,

While others fought to win the prize,

And sailed through bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face?

Must I not stem the flood?

Is this vile world a friend to grace,

To help me on to God?

Sure I must fight if I would reign;

Increase my courage, Lord.

I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,

Supported by Thy Word.

Thy saints in all this glorious war

Shall conquer, though they die;

They see the triumph from afar,

By faith's discerning eye.

When that illustrious day shall rise,

And all Thy armies shine

In robes of victory through the skies,

The glory shall be Thine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I really like this song. It convicts my heart. It seems like Christians in this day have it so much easier than those that lived years ago. It seems that we have more, and suffer little in comparison. On top of that…we complain more and do so little. Please don’t get me wrong, I'm talking to myself here too. I am burdened that I have not personally done my part to reach the lost. I find myself wasting time on worldly things when I could pray. Praying for the lost and those who reach them is a huge deal! I think of our missionaries and those in full time service for the Lord who need us to be praying and interceding for them to the Lord.

But, what about me and my neighbors, family and friends? Do I even pray for them? I mean really pray for them. So far in this great country of ours, we still enjoy the freedom of religion, but the day may come when this world will not tolerate true Biblical preaching. What will we do if real persecution comes? If I can't even deal properly with the slights of others or have a good attitude through the trials I face now…. how will I ever stand when the line is drawn between those who are real and those who are not? If I cannot stand now, when things are relatively easy, I know I will fall when things are truly hard.

I must purpose in my heart now to do what is right and I must practice those things that a soldier is supposed to be doing. Like praying without ceasing and studying God’s Word and hiding it in my heart. I need to practice bringing into captivity every thought. I need to be sober and be vigilant too.

The ultimate goal of a Christian is to bring glory to God, so I have to ask myself these questions:

1.  Am I a soldier of the cross? Really, am I?
2.  What kind of soldier am I? Do I cave and give in easily? Am I a lazy soldier or one who goes AWOL half the time? Do I complain about the other “troops” a lot? Am I committed to our eternal cause?

There are too many things that need to be done in the Lord’s army for us to be half-hearted soldiers.

From my heart...Dianne