Endure… as a good soldier…
(2Timothy 2:3)

     Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda (1922-2014) enlisted in the Japanese army at the age of 18. In December 1944 he was deployed to the Lubang Island in the Philippines to aide in its defense. In February 1945 American forces landed on the island. Shortly all, but Onoda and three other soldiers, were either dead or had surrendered. Onoda and his comrades took to the hills. In October 1945 they found a leaflet saying that Japan had surrendered. Thinking it was a trick, they refused to give up the fight. It was not until 1974 that Onoda, who was the only remaining member of the original group of four, finally became convinced that the war was over and surrendered himself to the authorities.
     Just as Onoda was determined to fight on and not give up, the saints of Jesus Christ must also endure and be just as determined to continue to "fight the good fight of faith" (1Tim 6:12). For “blessed is the man that endureth” (Jas 1:12), "he shall overcome" (Gen 49:19).