Free to Fight
In the opening lines to the song “Fighting For Me” by Riley Clemmons you can find the following words:
I need the kinda love that can outlast the night
I need the kinda love that is willing to fight
If nobody told you the context of this beautifully written Christian song, you may think these lines were the beginning of some cheesy love song followed by a bunch of empty platitudes. You would be very wrong! Check it out for yourself:
The chorus of this song has no shortage of FIGHT!
You will never stop fighting for me
When I can't fight for myself
Every word is a promise You keep
Cause You love me like nobody else
You stand up for me in the darkest night
When my faith is weak You're still by my side
You will never stop fighting for me
You will never stop fighting for me
God picked and won the fight for us! The victory at the cross, affirmed by Jesus’ resurrection was not only a show of love that could outlast the night, but of love that could outlast death —- proof that God’s love is indeed larger than life…and death! If the painful crucifixion and taking on our sin wasn’t proof that Jesus loves us and was (is) willing to fight for us, I don’t know what could possibly be evidence of such a thing. As the chorus states and the Bible has proven, God keeps His promises, loves us like nobody else, and always stands with us. When we are faithless, He is faithful! As 2 Timothy 2:13 states:
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
In the preceding verses of 2 Timothy 2, we read about Paul’s exhortations to Timothy to be strong in the faith, with a theme of suffering hardship and enduring. I’ll highlight a few verses here:
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. The statement is trustworthy:
For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He will also deny us;
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
- 2 Timothy 2: 8-13
There’s a lot in there, but I want to focus on a few points for us to consider. Hopefully they will encourage us to FIGHT!
Looking at the words in bold, we see that even when Paul was persecuted and restricted to the point of literal imprisonment, he is unequivocal in stating “the word of God is not imprisoned.” The gospel is still the gospel! God’s words still remain true, no matter our circumstances! They bring life and freedom to all who will hear and accept them!
God has chosen certain people to be saved from eternal separation from him. We see Paul is willing to “endure all things” for their sake. Are we? Are we even willing to endure a little bit of discomfort or inconvenience?
He’s our ticket. By “He” I am referring to Jesus. We live because of His death. We just have to endure! Even when our faith is weak, even if we are faithless, HE IS FAITHFUL!!!
Let’s look back to the opening lines about the kind of love that “can outlast the night” and “is willing to fight.” God has THAT kind of love! He gives us that spirit (His spirit) to fight for the others He has chosen. It’s hard to know how and when God will use us in someone’s salvation story if we can simply endure, even when our faith is weak. After all, whatever we face, no matter how we stumble, God’s word is not imprisoned!
We will always be free to fight. Let’s act like it!