Tertullian and Ad Martyras

So I tonight I was working on a one page Historical Illustration for Christian History to 1517. For the illustration we have to find a primary source quote and illustrate the importance of the quote. As I was stumbling around I found a quote by Tertullian, a Christian apologist in the 2nd century who coined the term Trinity. One of his writings is called Ad Martyras which is means To the Martyrs in Latin. The thing that struck me the most was his perspective found in chapter III.

Grant now, O blessed, that even to Christians the prison is unpleasant; yet we were called to the warfare of the living God in our very response to the sacramental words. Well, no soldier comes out to the campaign laden with luxuries, nor does he go to action from his comfortable chamber, but from the light and narrow tent, where every kind of hardness, roughness and unpleasantness must be put up with. Even in peace soldiers inure themselves to war by toils and inconveniences--marching in arms, running over the plain, working at the ditch, making the testudo, engaging in many arduous labours. The sweat of the brow is on everything, that bodies and minds may not shrink at having to pass from shade to sunshine, from sunshine to icy cold, from the robe of peace to the coat of mail, from silence to clamour, from quiet to tumult. In like manner, O blessed ones, count whatever is hard in this lot of yours as a discipline of your powers of mind and body. You are about to pass through a noble struggle, in which the living God acts the part of superintendent, in which the Holy Ghost is your trainer, in which the prize is an eternal crown of angelic essence, citizenship in the heavens, glory everlasting. Therefore your Master, Jesus Christ, who has anointed you with His Spirit, and led you forth to the arena, has seen it good, before the day of conflict, to take you from a condition more pleasant in itself, and has imposed on you a harder treatment, that your strength might be the greater.

This quote reminds me of Paul's encouragement to Timothy in 2 Tim 2:3-6 to be a good soldier. It also encourages me to be present to what I have and not expect a life of comfort or protection for those are things of this world and this current kingdom, not the kingdom of the King.

If you would like to read Ad Martyras in its entirety it may be found here.