Excerpted from Salvation Army Founder Catherine Booth writings: Popular Chrisianity


The Real Warfare:

First: Christ's soldiers must be IMBUED with the SPIRIT of the WAR.


Love to the King and concern for His interests must be the master passion of the soul.
All outward effort, even that which springs from a sense of duty, will fail without this.
The hardship and suffering involved in real spiritual warfare are too great for any motive but that of love...
A little child who has this spirit will subjugate others to his King, while the most talented and learned and active, without it, will accomplish comparatively little.
If the hearts of the Christians of this generation were inspired with this spirit, and set on WINNING the world for GOD, we should soon see nations shaken to their centre, and MILLIONS of souls translated into the kingdom.


Secondly: The soldiers of Christ must be ABANDONED to the war.


They must be thoroughly committed to God's side: there can be NO NEUTRALS in this warfare...
Some one may ask,

"But we cannot all be ministers, or missionaries, or officers in the Salvation Army; must we not attend to the avocations of this life, and work for the bread that perisheth for ourselves and our families?"

Certainly, but the great end in ALL WE DO must be the promotion of the Kingdom. A man may work in order that he may eat, but he must eat to live, not to himself or for the promotion of his own purposes, but for his King, and for the advancement of His interests; and if his heart is REALLY set on this, he will have NO DESIRE to work at his secular calling longer than is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to promote this.
When the necessary amount of work is done, he will gladly lay aside his implements of husbandry or handicraft for the sword of the Spirit...
There will be no running away, no forsaking of the cross, no shrinking from the hard places of the field; but a determined pushing of the battle to the gate, even amid weariness, opposition, and sometimes in the face of dire defeat.        

Then, third: Christ's soldiers must UNDERSTAND the TACTICS of war.


In order to do this, they must make it a subject of earnest and prayerful study how to make the most of their time, talents, money, or any other resources which God may have placed at their command for the advancement of the kingdom.
They must THINK and SCHEME how best to attack the enemy...
Think also of the shameful indifference--which cannot be characterised as warfare at all--of the ordinary services and arrangements of the churches. It often makes my heart ache as I pass some stately, closed-up church or chapel, with its antiquated board with a shame-faced, insignificant announcement that the "Reverend So-and-so will preach," or a "Gospel address will be delivered" at such a time on such a day; in which it is evident NOTHING is contemplated beyond securing the eye and attention of those who ALREADY HAVE a liking for going to churches or chapels...
WHERE IS THE ZEAL of the Christians of this generation for the Lord of hosts? How much do they care about His reign over the hearts of their fellow-men? What is their appreciation of the present and eternal benefits embraced in His salvation; or what is their estimate of the "crown of life" which He promises to give to every one of His conquering soldiers?


Fourth: The soldiers of Christ must BELIEVE IN VICTORY.


Faith in victory is an indispensable condition to successful warfare of any kind...
The true soldier of Christ, who has the spirit of the war and who is ABANDONED to its interests, has an earnest in his soul of coming victory.
He knows it is ONLY A QUESTION OF TIME, and time is nothing to love!
As he is lying in the trenches, or taking long marches, or suffering for the want of common necessaries, or enduring the sharpest bayonets or heaviest fire of the enemy, or lying wounded, overcome by fatigue, pressed by discouragement, realizing the greatness of the conflict in contrast with his own weakness--in the very darkest hours and severest straits, he has the herald of COMING VICTORY sounding in his ears...
This faith inspires him to endure hardship and to suffer loss, to hold on.
He NEVER thinks of turning his back to the foe, or shirking the cross, or turning the stones into bread, or of trying to shorten the march...
He looks onward through the dark clouds to the proud moment when the King will say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" He listens, and above the din of the earthly conflict he hears the words,

"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life!"

Hallelujah...where are you today Catherine?