After wandering through the wilderness for forty years, the Israelites finally reached the other side of Jordan. Moses has already left them and it was Joshua who was to lead them to the promised land. Before commencing the final lap of their long and arduous journey, God told Joshua to ‘be strong and courageous’ (Josh 1:6). This instruction was so important that God repeated it twice again (Josh 1:7, 1:9). Strangely the response from the people who were informed of God’s future plans under the leadership of Joshua was also a repeat of what God said. ‘Only be strong and courageous’(Josh 1:18).
Courage is a virtue essential to enter the promised land. Courage is essential to enter the eternal kingdom too. In the book of Revelation we read about a long list of persons who are denied entry into the kingdom of God. It is not surprising that the first name among this list is that of cowards. ‘But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second death’ (Rev 21:8).
‘Choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin’ (Heb 11:25) needs courage like Moses. The kingdom of God is subject to force, says the Lord. To force our flesh to be subservient to the spirit needs courage. To flee from the cities of sin, we need courage like Lot. Going to the palaces of Herodes and telling them that they are living in sin needs the courage to sacrifice one’s own life. To say ‘we must obey God rather than any human authority’ (Acts 5:29), that too at the face of men in authority needs courage like Peter.
Courage is essential to proclaim the Word. This was why the early Church prayed for the courage to preach the Word. ‘And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness’ (Acts 4:30). Such was the courage of Peter, John, and other apostles that the members of the council were amazed when these ‘uneducated and ordinary men’ (Acts 4:13) fearlessly declared the eternal truth that disturbed them. ‘There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).
Confessing that Jesus is the only Savior calls for courage. This confession brings with it its due share of persecution and ‘to share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus’ (2 Tim 2:3) also needs courage. Again to stand for Christ when we are ‘brought before kings and governors’ ( Lk 21:12), extra ordinary courage is required.
These days call for the courage to stand for Christ and what he taught us. Those without this courage will ‘put their hands to the plow but will later look back and make themselves not fit for the kingdom of God’ ( Lk 9:62).
The Scripture assures us that all baptized Christian are blessed with courage. ‘ For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline’ (2 Tim 1:7). The Spirit that works in us is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead (Rom 8:11).
So, let us shun cowardice and embrace the spirit of courage that will help us to stay strong and brave in the final lap of our race to claim ‘the crown of righteousness from the Lord,the righteous judge’ ( 2 Tim 4:8)
