How well protected are you? I would dare say, we could look at a number of different places in our lives, and see that we are "armed" in different ways, and to different degrees. How armed are you against identity theft? Against actual theft in your home? How armed are you in case of an accident? In case of death? How armed are you when it comes to eaching your family the faith?
Just these few examples show us that being armed for the battle means a lot of different things. It also shows us that our armament will look vastly different from one battle to the next. The armor you have for your home probably is far different from that of your identity. Both are important, but they also require different armor to be of any use.
This applies, also, to our faith lives. We may we well armed in some respects, and woefully lacking in others. For example, we may be armed with great biblical knowledge, but woefully lacking in being armed to help our neighbor in need. We may be armed with great compassion, but woefully lacking when it comes to actually knowing the content of what we believe. We may be armed with regular worship and Bible study attendance, but woefully lacking when it comes to having the faith be active and present in our homes.
When we look at the armor of God (look at Ephesians 6:10-20 for a great list of what it looks like), one thing we realize is that our need for protection runs far deeper than most of us may ever think. We may feel we are well armed for the battle, only to find that there are unprotected areas of our lives that we didn't even consider.
That's where the role of the Body of Christ comes in. When our weak spots get exposed, it sure is much nicer to have it pointed out by someone who wants to build up our protection rather than someone who will use it against us. The Body of Christ may also be the ones who will hold up a shield while we expose ourselves to that weak spot, so that we are protected while we may be engaged in another battle in another area of life.
Just like the armor works together to protect, so also the Body of Christ. That's the unity that Paul calls for us to have in Ephesians, even when it comes to our armor. May that be one of the reasons that we strive to gather together in the name of Christ Jesus.
Just these few examples show us that being armed for the battle means a lot of different things. It also shows us that our armament will look vastly different from one battle to the next. The armor you have for your home probably is far different from that of your identity. Both are important, but they also require different armor to be of any use.
This applies, also, to our faith lives. We may we well armed in some respects, and woefully lacking in others. For example, we may be armed with great biblical knowledge, but woefully lacking in being armed to help our neighbor in need. We may be armed with great compassion, but woefully lacking when it comes to actually knowing the content of what we believe. We may be armed with regular worship and Bible study attendance, but woefully lacking when it comes to having the faith be active and present in our homes.
When we look at the armor of God (look at Ephesians 6:10-20 for a great list of what it looks like), one thing we realize is that our need for protection runs far deeper than most of us may ever think. We may feel we are well armed for the battle, only to find that there are unprotected areas of our lives that we didn't even consider.
That's where the role of the Body of Christ comes in. When our weak spots get exposed, it sure is much nicer to have it pointed out by someone who wants to build up our protection rather than someone who will use it against us. The Body of Christ may also be the ones who will hold up a shield while we expose ourselves to that weak spot, so that we are protected while we may be engaged in another battle in another area of life.
Just like the armor works together to protect, so also the Body of Christ. That's the unity that Paul calls for us to have in Ephesians, even when it comes to our armor. May that be one of the reasons that we strive to gather together in the name of Christ Jesus.
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