"Stand
firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness
in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from
the
gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Ephesians 6:14-17 (NIV)
gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Ephesians 6:14-17 (NIV)
While writing or dictating
his letter to the church in Ephesus Paul suddenly sees a ready-made picture. While
in Rome he was chained by the wrist to a Roman soldier. Night and day a soldier
was there to ensure that he would not escape. Knowing Paul, it is beyond doubt
that he had talked often to the soldiers who were compelled to watch him. As
he writes, the soldier's armor
suggests to him a picture which he uses as metaphor in chapter 6 of his letter.
The Christian too has his armor; and part by part Paul takes the armor of
the Roman soldier and translates it into Christian terms.
The armor is for defensive
purposes. Soldiers don’t
back down, neither do Christians. Believers
stand on their standing before God (Holy and Righteous before the creation of
the world 1:4). It is a Gospel
of peace with which we stand ready, which means that we are built to be
peacemakers. Christians are
not obnoxious. We listen,
care, believe, tell the truth honestly but with kindness and see the good in
others. We stand firm.
We don’t initiate battles, we defuse them.
I like especially how Paul
takes the one offensive weapon, the sword, and re-imagines it as the Holy
Spirit. Beautiful.
For
more:
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Unfortunately there really needs to be more "should"s and "shouldn't"s rather than all the "are"s and "are not"s in the second paragraph. I think many non-Christians (and Christians for that matter) would say we are (I am) very different from the ideal described in that paragraph. I hope people read the words as an opportunity for self-examination rather than self-congratulations.
ReplyDeleteBob R.