Suit up!

Its been awhile since I've posted a devotion.  So, here's another from my time student-teaching.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  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 come 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.

Ephesians 6:13-16

The idea of the “armor of God” is quite popular with Christians.  We like to think that God has given us all the tools we need to fight spiritual warfare.  And He has.

But in this modern age, I don’t think we understand the imagery anymore.  Today’s soldier wears bulletproof vests and carries a rifle.  Back when Paul wrote his letter to Ephesus, the best solders in the world were Roman legionnaires.  This image would have made perfect sense to an early Christian.

The breastplate a Roman soldier would wear did not cover their back.  While there was some armor, like a chain mail shirt, that they could wear for protection, it was not sufficient to stop even an arrow.  In the same way, relying on our righteousness alone will not keep us safe from attack.

The weapon that made the Roman Army great was the shield.  This device was a huge and strong wooden plank, some almost as tall as the soldier carrying it.  Where it was most effective was in formation.  The Roman Army would line up its men, and the first row would place their shields together to form a wall.  Then the men behind them would do the same, only this time above their heads.  This effectively made a human tank.  Alone, the shield was useful, but insufficient to defend fully.  With a group, it made for a much stronger and capable soldier.

Our faith works the same way.  On our own, we may struggle with all life throws at us.  But with our fellow believers we can support and strengthen each other.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for placing people in our lives to support us in the hard times.  Help us to humbly admit when we may need their help, and to be ready when they may need us to lean on.

Amen.

*I would really like to get a set of Roman armor, simply for this purpose.