On Memorial Day I was standing on our back deck with my son Ethan who had his BB gun in hand. He said, "Hey, Dad, watch this." Ethan took careful aim and hit a tin coke bottle that lay on the ground at least fifty feet away. He nailed it three times straight!
Impressed by Ethan's sharp-shooting, I remarked, "You should go into the military!" To which Ethan replied, "No ... I'd be afraid of the captain's voice."
Not enemy fire. Not parachute jumps. Not minefields. Just the captain's voice! I thought that was so funny. I would have never guessed that one in a million years!
Praise God, this is one fear we never have to face as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ! Did you know that in Hebrews 2:10, Jesus is referred to as "the Captain of [our] salvation"? The idea being presented in this particular context of Scripture is that Jesus has gone ahead of us as the author, the founder, the pioneer of our salvation.
This came at a great cost, for the writer of Hebrews explains that God, "in bringing many sons to glory, [made] the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (Heb. 2:10). The next verse goes on to say that we as believers are united to Christ, which is why "He is not ashamed to call [us] brethren." Jesus laid down His very life for us, counting us as His brothers.
Simon Kistemaker writes that as a result of Jesus' successful mission, "He received the appointment to lead the elect out of a life of slavery in sin to a life of eternal happiness in which they are considered sons and heirs with Christ." (New Testament Commentary: Hebrews, pp. 70-71).
Jesus Christ is one Captain whose voice we as His followers never need to fear! He has won our hearts through His selfless love, and therefore we make it our aim to be well-pleasing to Him (2 Cor. 5:9). God, help us to be "good soldiers of Jesus Christ" (2 Tim. 2:3)!