From the moment one drives onto the campus of West Point Military Academy, it is clear that duty, honor and country suffuse the atmosphere.  While recently visiting this establishment, I was struck by the meticulously manicured grounds, the breathtakingly beautiful view of the Hudson and the properly mannered cadets  seen saluting their superiors.  No horseplay ensues as the students and faculty walk these halls of learning.  If visitors stay long enough, the ambience begins to rub off---  One begins to feel the need to insert “sir” and “ma’am” into her conversation and walk with a bit more poise.  That is because everything visible engenders pride for the United States Army, even down to the “Beat Navy” flag displayed at a central point near the sizable parade field.  

Perhaps the sobriety with which these military trainees conduct themselves is due in part to the conspicuous reminders which flank their surroundings.  It is hard to escape the many marks of history situated within easy view--- civil war cannons still aimed in a direction that indicates readiness to engage, statues of prominent generals who led great battalions, and remnants of an enormous chain that supposedly held the British at bay.  These relics, indeed, point the cadets to the understanding that service at this academy is done for something more than oneself.  Service here is done for the sake of others and for country. 

As a Christian, the other-worldly aura of West Point was stirring, and I think my response was due to more than the sea of camouflage and impressively displayed sabers.  My visit drew me to the words of Paul in 1 Timothy 2:3-4: “Endure hardship like a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer.”  I realized while visiting that whether one is a pacifist, just war proponent, or holding to some other view, the analogy of the Christian life to that of a soldier is compelling.  I began to think about what it might mean to live as a woman devoted to something more than myself.  What might it actually mean to live as a soldier of Jesus Christ? 

Charles Spurgeon, the great British preacher, devoted an entire sermon to this topic in 1870.  Although some of his language is dated, none of the meaning has changed.  In that sermon he writes this about soldiering for God:

“To serve [the] King, [one] must be ready to lay down his life. Surely he is no Christian who never felt the spirit of self- sacrifice. If I live unto myself I am living unto the flesh, and of the flesh I shall reap corruption. Only he who lives to his God, to Christ, to the Truth of God, to the Church,—only he is the man who can reckon himself at all to be a soldier of Jesus Christ... The Christian is fired by higher ambitions than any earthly warrior ever knew. He sees a crown that can never fade.  He loves a King who best of all is worthy to be served. He has a motive within him which moves him to the noble deeds—
a Divine spirit impelling him to the most self-sacrificing actions. Thus you see the Christian is a soldier.” 

There are many other analogies that one could draw to the Christian life; soldier is just one.  But I think this particular metaphor conveys aspects that are true and helpful.  Just as the lives of the cadets are completely encompassed by their vocation, one’s life as a Christian is transformed by Jesus Christ.  The Christian becomes, in thought, word and deed, devoted to God and God’s purposes, and all of his or her life is devoted to this end.  Following my visit to West Point, each time I see a soldier dressed in fatigues, I hope I will remember my calling to be a soldier for Jesus Christ, and be glad that God is transforming every part of who I am.