29 October 2020

29 October 2020

Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day,
and having done everything, to stand firm.
Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist,
and put on the breastplate of righteousness.
As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.
With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench 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.
From Ephesians 6: 10-20, NRSV

Some people find such militaristic language uncomfortable when speaking of Christianity but, again, the writer of the letter to the Ephesians is using something that would have been familiar to those reading it. They would have seen Roman soldiers with their layers of armour – some may have worn it themselves. They would have experienced how invincible this seemed to make the soldiers. The writer offers a way of thinking about the qualities the new Christians were to show that gives strength and confidence. They are not to become doormats but to use goodness and integrity as armour as they go out into the world to face whatever it throws at them.

    • Do you find the image of putting the armour of God on helpful or uncomfortable?
    • When have felt that you needed to put on spiritual armour?

Think today about the role of the military – and the need for integrity and truth in their work around the world. Pray for countries where the armour is not of justice or peace but oppression.

Image:  Christian Peter Marinescu-Ivan – https://www.flickr.com/photos/cristianpetermarinescu/5492511054/sizes/l/in/photostream/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17504672