The Captain of our salvation
May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 NLT
Christians are called upon to a life of obedience to the One who suffered and gave His life for them. “Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them” 2 (Timothy 2:3-4). Christ is the Captain of our salvation and we must follow Him in the battle. It is our duty to be engaged in the war not only when we feel like it but with consistency for the enemy is relentless. “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). If we are not going to be prepared for the battle by spending time with our Captain and will not follow His Word, the enemy will easily defeat us. We are not obeying Christ out of fear; we are obeying because we have “a full understanding and expression of the love of God.” Our obedience to God is motivated by our love to Him. “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15). Christ died for us because He loves us. Our love for God will condition our hearts to respond to Him in faith. Paul prayed for the believers in Thessalonica that they will fully comprehend the magnitude of God’s love. This should also be our prayer for one another and all the more for the Day of the Lord is fast approaching. This will produce perseverance and steadfast obedience. We need to continue to grow in these virtues for these are what will keep us live godly lives. “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return” (Philippians 1:9-10). We need to have a deep experiential knowledge of the love of God so that when we face hardships in life, we will have a steady faith. Do you anticipate Christ’s return? If so, let us live the life He gave us experiencing the joy as we anticipate His return. “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8 NIV). Let us then be faithful following the Captain of our salvation so that “when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame” (1 John 2:28).
Blessings,
