A brave soldier
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.” (NIV) Mark 8:38
A fine lad entered the army. On the first night in the barracks when he went to bed, he faced a real test. At home, he had the habit of reading the Bible and kneeling down to pray before retiring. In the barracks, he was entirely surrounded by rough fellows. Many of them were cursing and joking loudly. The lad thought it might be wise to go to bed and read his Bible where nobody would notice him.
Then he thought and boldly decided, I’m a Christian! I ought to be an example for Jesus before the others. I won’t pull down my colors. I will do here like I always did at home. So he took out his Bible and read it. Then he knelt down to pray. The barracks became as quiet as a church. After a while the talk began again, but it was more subdued. No one said anything about the young soldier’s unusual behavior. The next night when he got out his Bible, eight other soldiers got out their Bibles.
Within a month every soldier in the barracks would have fought for the lad. They came to him with their questions and their troubles. He influenced more men in the barracks for good than a dozen preachers could have in a year of Sundays.