Double-edged sword, What does our discipleship look like?

Then heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of His mouth comes a sharp (double edged) sword with which to strike down the nations. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS". (Revelation 19, excerpt)

The roman double edged sword is a closed range, sharper-than-razor short sword, designed for up close and personal battle -- to get *inside* the enemy. The double edged function is intended for sure kill attacks into the opponent's abdomen. But for the Roman soldiers, it was their vision, forward planning, objectivity, but most of all — their massively superior training — which produced brutally reliable discipline. Such discipline created the ability to be flexible when confronted with (sometimes rapidly) changing circumstances. For we who are the army of the Lord, what does our discipleship look like?

Source: http://bawldguy.com/double-edged-sword-or-planning-discipline-what-does-your-retirement-look-like/

Double-Edged Sword — OR — Planning & Discipline — What Does Your Discipleship Look Like?

A Makhaira (ma – ki – rah) is the name used, in Koine Greek, (Created, in part by Alexander the Great as the common language for his huge military.) a dead language, for sword. It was often used, (to the confusion of many) when talking about the sword used by Roman soldiers. They actually used, for 2-3 centuries, a sword referred to as gladius.
Keep the faith — slowly but surely, this will dovetail into real estate investing for retirement.
The gladius was different. It’s design aided the Roman legionary’s battlefield tactics. First, it was much shorter than what we’ve come to know as a sword. The blade was usually only 19-20″ long. Second, it was double edged, able to cut savagely both ways — a huge improvement. Third, its design went away from the oft used leaf shape, to a simple, straight blade.
These changes were a result of Rome’s enemies modifying their defenses. I won’t bore you with the details here, but here’s a description of what a legionary was now able to do in battle.
While holding his shield with one hand, he held the gladius in the other, like most soldiers of the time. However, his sword sported a much shorter blade, which helped him get inside his opponent. Also, if his first downward slanting-cutting motion missed his target, it wasn’t necessary to raise his sword arm to try again. He simply reversed the motion, essentially a backhand, and saved precious time, (if not his life) by wounding or killing his opponent that much more quickly. Also, because he was working with the relatively shorter blade, and was therefore more easily able to get inside his enemy’s kill zone, it was far easier for him to thrust into the abdomen, an almost guaranteed kill shot.
It was a truly effective (read: nasty) weapon, made possible by it’s planning, vision, knowledge of the enemy, and ultimately, design.
Where’s the Roman legionary’s flexibility? His javelin, known as a pilum. It was roughly seven feet long. He used it for both throwing, and thrusting. He had a weapon for close, savage, infighting in the gladius. His javelin gave him the option of dealing with his enemy from a longer distance. The goal was, however, the same for both weapons — victory on the battlefield.
And yet…
Most military historians agree — the gladius wasn’t really the primary reason for Rome’s military dominance. It was their vision, forward planning, objectivity, but most of all — their massively superior training — which produced brutally reliable discipline. Their vision, planning (Purposeful?), and objectively focused discipline, not only carried out that superior training — but created the ability to be flexible when confronted with (sometimes rapidly) changing circumstances.