If you’re a veteran, you likely remember these words quite well. This oath, sworn as you began your service to your country, shaped at least a period of your life and may impact your thinking and actions long after your service has concluded. “I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

There’s an oath because serving is serious business. It can also be costly. I’ve been privileged to hear the personal story of a soldier who fought in WWII’s Battle of the Bulge. I’ve heard another man recount what it was like to be part of the Army of Occupation and to guard prisoners at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial. I’ve seen some sadly shake their heads and refuse to talk about their time in the service; what they saw and experienced at that time is too terrible for discussion, a painful memory that those men and women will carry to their graves. Soldiering isn’t for weaklings!

Good soldiers don’t quit because they recognize the lasting impact of their service. Just outside Edinburgh Castle sits a World War I Memorial that includes the words of Thucydides: “The whole earth is the tomb of heroic men, and their story is not graven only on stones over their clay, but abides everywhere, without visible symbol, woven into the stuff of others’ lives.” Soldiers risk and suffer for the good of future generations.

The soldiers of ancient Rome accepted that. They took an oath, the Sacramentum Miliatarae. Only a portion of that oath has been preserved in history, but historians do know that the Roman soldier promised “to follow the generals in any wars to which they are called,” and to “enthusiastically do what the emperor commands, and not to desert the army or shrink from death for the sake of the Roman state.”

Guarded by soldiers as he waited for Emperor Nero to decide his fate, the Apostle Paul wrote 2nd Timothy. Surrounded by soldiers, Paul used the image of a soldier as he challenged Timothy to serve Christ: “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” Paul respected the soldiers so much that he used their work to describe his own as a Soldier of Christ.

It fits. Soldiers expect suffering; they know sacrifice may be required to accomplish the mission. Soldiers train in the quieter times to prepare for the chaotic times. Soldiers anticipate stress, accept death and refuse to quit. They depend on one another.

According to historian Alexandra Holbrook in her thesis, Loyalty and the Sacramentum in the Roman Republican Army, that concept of interdependence was taken so seriously that, if a solider was found guilty of a serious crime, he was immediately executed. But then the punishment was carried further in a process called “Decimation.” In Decimation, the (criminal) soldier’s whole unit was lined up, and every tenth person was then killed by the other 9 in his group. Killing a friend and fellow soldier vividly reminded each of the troops that their actions impacted the lives of others in solemn ways; each man carried a heavy responsibility to every other person in his unit.

That’s what makes Paul’s use of military language in his letter to Timothy so meaningful. Soldiers of Christ expect to follow General Jesus anywhere he leads. Christian soldiers pledge to enthusiastically do what the Savior commands and to not desert in the midst of battle. They know they must remain faithful to death. Christian soldiers feel a constant responsibility for others and understand that their life and witness matters. That’s why Paul ends 2nd Timothy with more warrior language: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 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.”

Onward Christian soldiers!

Mark Wilmoth is with Pinehurst Christian Church in Marietta and can be reached at Minister@PinehurstChristianChurch.org.