The greatest tragedy in today’s church is not the lack of resources, but the abundance of civilians in a spiritual battlefield. Too many believers have settled for comfort, ease, and applause, while Christ has called us to rugged soldiering, radical cross-bearing, and sacrificial obedience to the Great Commission.
The Gospel was never meant to thrive only in safe spaces. It was forged in the fire of persecution, advanced through deserts, mountains, and rivers, and carried by men and women who refused to conform to any ideology that resisted the advance of Christ’s Kingdom. Paul declared, “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:3). Soldiers do not choose convenience; they embrace assignment. As A.W. Tozer once said, “A true soldier of Jesus Christ will not refuse to go to the front lines.”
Standing Against A Systemic Ideology
A dangerous ideology has crept into modern Christianity: the belief that missions should only be pursued where it is easy, safe, and comfortable. Many shy away from the deserts of the Sahel, the mountains of Afghanistan, the jungles of Papua, or the nomadic camps of the Fulani. This ideology is systemic—it shapes church policies, financial priorities, and even the language of our pulpits. It whispers, “Do not go to difficult areas; stay where results come quickly and cheaply.”
But the soldier of Christ must resist. Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” We cannot be enlisted by the Commander of Heaven’s Army and remain civilians. Civilians avoid battles; soldiers engage them. Civilians count losses; soldiers fight for victories. Civilians think of comfort; soldiers think of conquest.
Rugged Cross-Carriers
Jesus never sugar-coated discipleship. He said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). The call is not to wear the cross as a necklace but to carry it as a lifestyle. True cross-carriers are rugged. They march into unreached territories, unshaken by persecution, unmoved by scarcity, undistracted by criticism.
Hudson Taylor carried the cross into inland China. Samuel Zwemer carried the cross into the heart of Islam. William Carey carried the cross into India. Their steps were not on red carpets but on rugged paths. C.T. Studd challenged believers in his day with these words: “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”
The soldier spirit does not wait for an invitation to comfort; it breaks into the dark strongholds of the enemy with light. As Leonard Ravenhill declared, “The early Church was married to poverty, prisons, and persecutions. Today the Church is married to prosperity, personality, and popularity.” Soldiers must choose the former.
Radical Obedience To The Great Commission
Radical obedience means going where Christ is not named. Paul’s ambition was clear: “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known” (Rom. 15:20). Soldiers of Christ do not measure success by the size of crowds but by the depth of obedience. Radical disciples go to villages without electricity, cities hostile to Christianity, tribes hostile to strangers, and nations where Christ’s name is illegal.
Radical obedience is costly. It costs time, comfort, reputation, and sometimes life itself. But the soldier knows the cause is greater than the cost. Jim Elliot, who gave his life reaching the unreached, declared: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
The question is not whether the Great Commission is possible; it is whether we will obey. Hudson Taylor once said, “The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.”
A Call To The Church
The Church must rise from civilian Christianity. The battle is fierce, the enemy is relentless, and the unreached remain unreached. This is not the hour for soft living, but for soldier living. Christ is not calling us to safe religion but to dangerous mission.
We need men and women who will:
Refuse to bow to ideologies that make missions a luxury.
Choose rugged sacrifice over refined convenience.
Carry the cross into deserts, mountains, and hostile cities.
Stand as soldiers who live, fight, and if necessary, die for the Kingdom.
As Charles Spurgeon urged, “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. If they perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”
The question today is not whether the Gospel can reach the most difficult places—it can. The question is whether there are still soldiers willing to go.
Stop being a civilian. Be a true soldier of Christ. Take your cross, wear your boots, and march into territories where His name is not yet known. The Commander of Heaven’s Army is calling.
“Only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” – C.T. Studd.