Matthew Martin
“Fight the good fight
of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about
which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” I
Timothy 6:12
LONE SURVIVOR
The 2014 hit movie, Lone Survivor was
based on the true story of Marcus Luttrell of Seal Team 10 and their ill-fated
mission, Operation Redwing, during
the Afghan War, in 2005.
The purpose
of the mission was to gather intelligence on Taliban leaders considered a
threat to US forces in the Afghan theater of operations. Unfortunately, the
mission was soon compromised when a group of goat herders stumbled upon the
SEAL’s location. Faced with the difficult decision of killing or releasing the
civilians, who could reveal their whereabouts to the Taliban, the team voted to
release them and within the hour were fighting for their lives.
____________________________________________________________________________
“My
Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my
enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every
remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish our
mission. I am never out of the fight…
—Navy SEAL
Ethos
_____________________________________________________________________________
SEAL Team 10 fought
to the death and Luttrell was the only survivor. Badly wounded, he managed to
walk and crawl seven miles to evade capture. He was given shelter by an Afghan
tribe, who alerted the Americans of his presence, and was finally rescued six
days later.[i]
Marcus
Luttrell is a fighter who fought for his team and fought for his life. Despite
living with the lingering effects of his brutal injuries, Luttrell continues to
fight. He started the Lone Survivor
Foundation to help wounded Veterans and still writes and speaks extensively
on behalf of those who risk their lives to serve our country.
NEVER OUT OF THE FIGHT
The Apostle
Paul was a fighter. In his final words to Timothy, he said, “I have fought a
good fight.” Hmm… why did Paul fight, whom did he fight, and why did he fight?
After all, fighting seems pretty un-Christian to me. In fact, Jesus said “Love your
enemies, turn the other cheek, and go the extra mile.” That doesn’t sound like,
if you get an opportunity to fight—take it! Yet Paul, by his own admission, was
never out of the fight and fought to the end of his life.
What type of
fighting is Paul talking about then? To us, fighting is an act of physical or
verbal violence between human combatants. The fight Paul speaks of in his
letters is about our struggle to live like Jesus in a broken world, which
requires a combative attitude.
Fighting the
fight of faith embodies three distinct directives for the Christian. The word
fight comes from the Greek word ἀγων which means to
struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an
adversary), or genitive case (to endeavor to accomplish something): —fight,
labor fervently, strive.
Directive
One—Compete:
Fight in the
sense of a contest. In order to compete for a prize in an athletic event, the
fight is initially with oneself. It starts with the enormous self-discipline of
training—the daily grind of eating right, training hard, and getting adequate
time for rest and recovery. As Christians we compete for prizes or awards for
how well we do in our struggle with ourselves—our self-discipline.
“All
athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will
fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.” I Corinthians 9:25
Directive
Two—Contend:
Fight the
Adversary. Our fight of faith is against an unseen adversary—the devil,
himself! We are not talking about a funny little guy in a red suit holding a
pitchfork, but a bona fide sadist who will use any means necessary to destroy our
Christian testimony and keep us in bondage.
“Because
your fight has not been with flesh and blood, but with Principalities and The
Rulers and The Powers of this dark world and with wicked spirits which are
under Heaven.”
Ephesians 6:12
Directive
Three—Endeavor:
Fight to
accomplish. Remember heaven is our home—not Planet Earth! Don’t get comfortable
here and stop striving to accomplish the good things God has planned for your
life. Take hold of your life of faith and “the eternal life to which you are
called,” as believers in Jesus Christ, and endeavor to fight to the end as Paul
did.
“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to
which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the
presence of many witnesses.” I Timothy 6:12
The Christian’s life is indeed a
fight. It takes a warrior’s spirit and attitude to live as Jesus lived. Like
the Navy SEAL’s, we are “never out of the fight”. Fortunately, we are “teamed”
with the Lord Jesus Christ and other believers fighting with us, providing
strength and encouragement in the heat of battle.
“NEVER OUT OF THE FIGHT”
Hello
ReplyDeleteGreat read! Keep it coming. All glory to God!
ReplyDelete