2 Timothy 2:3
3 Thou [su] therefore [oun] endure hardness, [kakopatheo] as [hos] a good [kalos] soldier [stratiotes] of Jesus [Iesous] Christ. [Christos] KJV-Interlinear
3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. NASB
Hardness, ‘kakopatheo,’ means to suffer along with others, as others suffer by a similar means. In this case it is a specific reference to Paul, but by implication it is a reference to all believers who are positive and advancing in their spiritual life.
To suffer as a soldier, means to function as a soldier 24/7.
A soldier in active service on the battle field, does not have a daily job, working for just a few hours a day, but is required to be constantly alert around the clock all day and all night, throughout his time on the battle field. All of the time in other words.
The enemy in life is all around and the enemy is not just the circumstances of the world, but the powers of evil that are led by Satan, promoting his policy of evil constantly the world over, Eph. 6:10-13.
Just as the shields of space ships in the sci-fi movies are raised against enemies, so too, in real life, our shield is the fellowship shield or environment we acquire when we confess our sins to God the Father, and are thus protected in the power of the Spirit and the spiritual life.
The military service, of which we are obligated, is in the army of God, namely Christ, to whom we are obligated and required to be obedient to, lest we fail in our duty, as a soldier, and lose out in life, as s soldier loses his life when caught off guard by an enemy.
Our battlefield is not some remote and forgotten geographical place, but exists in the realm of the spiritual world, and encompasses our entire life from the moment we believed in Christ until the moment that God removes us from this world.
A soldier suffers from where he is, on a battle field, from the environment, bad weather, bad food, bad clothing, from constant enemy attacks and harassment. All of which can occur all day long and throughout the night. The soldier is weary from the constant pressure of keeping alert.
And so it is in the spiritual life. One has to maintain a constant vigil with regard to ones sins, to confess regularly, which often times may be forgotten causing slippages in ones spiritual life.
One has to maintain a constant and daily eating habit, so as to maintain his health. Daily Bible study is the process of eating spiritual food.
One has to constantly walk around his post, so as to keep on the alert for the enemy. And the walk is the daily activity of ones spiritual life by constantly applying doctrine and its principles to ones life.
A soldier has to maintain constant communication with his commanders, and prayer is our communication mechanism.
If you are in the military, then you are employed in one of the most honorable and revered professions that the Bible makes reference to. If you are not in the military, then you need to realize that you are in fact in the military of God, with regard to your spiritual life.
Your battle is against your own mental attitude and function within your own soul.
The world will try its best to distract you away from doctrine and your duty to follow Gods mandates.
Odd as it may seem, those who mock and ridicule the military, are in fact mocking themselves in their failure to function in the spiritual war, as they are functioning as military enemy combatants in the spiritual realm. They just do not know it, and they do not realize that they are destroying themselves.
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