Ephesians 6:12-17
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
As a kid in Sunday School and Christian elementary school, I remember memorizing the list of spiritual armor. The “sandals of peace” always stood out in my head. Why on earth would anyone go into any kind of battle with sandals of peace on their feet? Are we supposed to be pacifist to stop the battle before it really gets started? But if that’s the case, why the sword and other accoutrements? No, that really isn’t how it reads either. This has always been a puzzle to me. (One of many, to be sure!)
Recently as I was praying for my husband who had been tense about his school work, stress with our son, and other normal stuff, I became aware that as I was pulling up to the house I was entering a spiritual battleground. But the battle was certainly not against my husband (flesh and blood) but against the powers, principalities, darkness, spiritual hosts, anything attacking him or weighing him down. And it occurred to me that this is a battle that I absolutely want to walk into wearing sandals of peace and not “boots that were made for stompin’” as the song goes.
By preparing my feet with the gospel of peace, I’m walking into a situation ready to do battle with the spiritual forces at work with the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, sword of the Spirit, belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness, but what I’m bringing to my husband is something altogether different, I’m bringing him peace as he wrestles the same battle with the same armor. The peace that I was bringing into the house with me was for my husband’s benefit as we fight the good fight together.
This was a good lesson and reality check for me as I pulled into my driveway that evening. Instead of tensing up for a moody man, in case that was what I was about to meet, I came prepared in a whole different way with a whole different outlook. It changes the room instantly when I can walk in the room with peace that surpasses understanding instead of tension or defensiveness. Interesting…
I find it also interesting that Ephesians 6 comes right after Ephesians 5. *smirk* Interesting because here in Ephesians 6 we have a description of our armor against the reality of spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”), following on the heels the comparison of our earthly marriages to the relationship between Christ and the church. I know that many would agree that marriage is a definite location for spiritual attack as it is both a place the enemy can bring down believers and a place where God can be glorified in our lives.
Much, much more on marriage in future posts, especially as it relates to this concept of the comparison with Christ and the church. Not to worry, I have my husband’s permission to talk about him. ;)
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Jesus Loves Me, Part 2
“Do you know that Jesus loves you?” It’s a question I frequently ask my 8-year-old and am always reassured to hear him say yes. I’ve taught him for a very long time that that is the most important question he will ever be able to answer in his life. So it was very gratifying a couple of months back to be teaching his 1st and 2nd grade Sunday School class and ask the next question, “How do we know God loves us?” and get a correct answer…from my son. It was a leading question to introduce our memory verse, John 3:16: “For God so love the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” I got very good responses from 7- and 8-year-olds (especially considering I remember being stumped by this question when quizzed by a missionary in college…embarrassing!): “because the Bible says so!”, “because He created us!”, “because He loves us!” (classic response from this group!); then all of a sudden my buddy’s hand shoots up, I call on him, and he stuns me with an answer I had not be able to provide when I was at least 10 years his senior in college, “because he sent Jesus to die for us even though we were still sinners.” I promise you, friends, if I had prepped him in advance or even remembered having a conversation with him that was that direct in the recent past, I would not have been stunned into silence in front of a group of squirmy kids!
This wasn’t the first time I was reassured that my child has better teachers than me surrounding him and has something to teach even his oh-so-wise mother. About two years prior, my then six-year-old and I were in a precarious pinch with my sister, Brittany, behind the wheel of her SUV stuck in the snow on a mountain road. We’d been caught off guard in a snow storm while camping over Thanksgiving weekend, a great story in and of itself, and when trying to escape down the mountain roads found them less than passable. I was in a right panicked state as we slid closer to the edge of the road with my sister’s every attempt to move the vehicle. Finally in the midst of my panicked exclamations, I hear the voice of my up-to-this-point-silent buddy from the backseat, “Mom, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course, Buddy, what’s up?” (Trying to play it cool here.)
“If we die are we going to heaven?”
“Yes, Buddy, we are definitely going to heaven if we die.”
My little wise one turned back to my sister, the driver, and with a flick of the wrist said, “Alright, carry on.”
It took me a couple of days for me to realize how fully my kid had shown me up in that moment and demonstrated far more faith, hope, peace and confidence than I could pretend or muster in that moment. Once I really processed that and let it sink in, I’ve begun to understand the full implications of that and it has guided a lot of things in my life. Before my son taught me that in-the-moment lesson, I had a hard time understanding Paul’s statement, “To live is Christ but to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) As it turns out, the worst thing that can happen here on earth (death), really isn’t a very bad thing after all.
Ethan and I talk about death now as a good thing that means we are done with our frail, earthly body, when God determines the work he has set before us has been accomplished here, and we get to go to our real home in heaven to be with Him. The fact that Ethan speaks so freely and hopefully about this fact is a really good thing because my son was very angry with God for a couple of years when he was grappling with the death of his uncle around the age of 3. It was very hard to see his hardened heart but I watched it slowly soften as Steve and I remained consistent with him and didn’t force scripture down his throat, but talked of how much Jesus loved him. It was that much more heartbreaking to see because prior to my uncle’s death I can remember more than once on quiet car rides hearing a soft sigh from my toddler’s lips followed by a reflective, “Ah, God loves me.” As a parent to go from that type of heartwarming reassurance to a very small child telling you that he “doesn’t want to hear about this God stuff” was difficult to say the least. In fact, that is a gross understatement, I was sick over it!
It may be hard to picture a 3, 4, 5 year old with a heart hardened toward God and it was even harder to see in the flesh but I know my son, his willfulness, his stubbornness. God made him that way for a purpose, His purpose; I’m sure it will serve Ethan and the kingdom well someday but in the meantime, as a parent, it comes with its challenges. For this reason, I know that my biggest focus in this life is making sure my son knows beyond a shadow of a doubt the answer to the question “do you know that Jesus loves you?” Because if he goes through life truly knowing the answer to that question in the deepest part of him there will be many other “big” questions in life for which the answer will be utterly insignificant in comparison.
And so, dear friend, I ask you, do you know that Jesus loves you?
This wasn’t the first time I was reassured that my child has better teachers than me surrounding him and has something to teach even his oh-so-wise mother. About two years prior, my then six-year-old and I were in a precarious pinch with my sister, Brittany, behind the wheel of her SUV stuck in the snow on a mountain road. We’d been caught off guard in a snow storm while camping over Thanksgiving weekend, a great story in and of itself, and when trying to escape down the mountain roads found them less than passable. I was in a right panicked state as we slid closer to the edge of the road with my sister’s every attempt to move the vehicle. Finally in the midst of my panicked exclamations, I hear the voice of my up-to-this-point-silent buddy from the backseat, “Mom, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course, Buddy, what’s up?” (Trying to play it cool here.)
“If we die are we going to heaven?”
“Yes, Buddy, we are definitely going to heaven if we die.”
My little wise one turned back to my sister, the driver, and with a flick of the wrist said, “Alright, carry on.”
It took me a couple of days for me to realize how fully my kid had shown me up in that moment and demonstrated far more faith, hope, peace and confidence than I could pretend or muster in that moment. Once I really processed that and let it sink in, I’ve begun to understand the full implications of that and it has guided a lot of things in my life. Before my son taught me that in-the-moment lesson, I had a hard time understanding Paul’s statement, “To live is Christ but to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) As it turns out, the worst thing that can happen here on earth (death), really isn’t a very bad thing after all.
Ethan and I talk about death now as a good thing that means we are done with our frail, earthly body, when God determines the work he has set before us has been accomplished here, and we get to go to our real home in heaven to be with Him. The fact that Ethan speaks so freely and hopefully about this fact is a really good thing because my son was very angry with God for a couple of years when he was grappling with the death of his uncle around the age of 3. It was very hard to see his hardened heart but I watched it slowly soften as Steve and I remained consistent with him and didn’t force scripture down his throat, but talked of how much Jesus loved him. It was that much more heartbreaking to see because prior to my uncle’s death I can remember more than once on quiet car rides hearing a soft sigh from my toddler’s lips followed by a reflective, “Ah, God loves me.” As a parent to go from that type of heartwarming reassurance to a very small child telling you that he “doesn’t want to hear about this God stuff” was difficult to say the least. In fact, that is a gross understatement, I was sick over it!
It may be hard to picture a 3, 4, 5 year old with a heart hardened toward God and it was even harder to see in the flesh but I know my son, his willfulness, his stubbornness. God made him that way for a purpose, His purpose; I’m sure it will serve Ethan and the kingdom well someday but in the meantime, as a parent, it comes with its challenges. For this reason, I know that my biggest focus in this life is making sure my son knows beyond a shadow of a doubt the answer to the question “do you know that Jesus loves you?” Because if he goes through life truly knowing the answer to that question in the deepest part of him there will be many other “big” questions in life for which the answer will be utterly insignificant in comparison.
And so, dear friend, I ask you, do you know that Jesus loves you?
Jesus Loves Me, Part 1
Do you know that Jesus loves you? I can’t get this question out of my head. I think part of the reason is that the reality that Jesus does love me defines my life in so many ways. When I look around at my family and my friends and my successful career(s) and my beautiful home and my amazing provisions I know I have accomplished none of this in my own strength but that all that I have has been a direct gift from God’s hand. I truly do believe that I can “do all things through Him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13) and in that I’m working on maintaining the contentment in all situations that Paul was describing in the verses just prior to that statement (v. 12). This can be difficult to do (believe it or not!) in this world where we have been groomed to bristle at the slightest affront to our comfort, sense of self and what we believe is “due” us. But the source of my strength in all situations and in all things is that Jesus loves me.
Jesus, you know Him? Pretty much the most influential human to walk the planet ever, oh wait, but that’s not fair to say, He had a major advantage being that He is also God and all. That’s right, friends, He’s GOD! And have I mentioned that He loves me? Yep, ME! I know, crazy, right? But it gets better, because whether you know who He is, like Him, care that He exists and created you, or are bitter towards Him, He loves you too. That’s right, He loves YOU! I know, I know, I don’t fully get it either, but I don’t really think that’s the point. In fact, the sheer fact that it makes no sense to me, I’ve done nothing to deserve His notice, let alone love, I’m not really that great of a person without those fruits of the Spirit that really aren’t of me in the first place, etc. etc. makes it that much more amazing that He loves me!
Jesus, you know Him? Pretty much the most influential human to walk the planet ever, oh wait, but that’s not fair to say, He had a major advantage being that He is also God and all. That’s right, friends, He’s GOD! And have I mentioned that He loves me? Yep, ME! I know, crazy, right? But it gets better, because whether you know who He is, like Him, care that He exists and created you, or are bitter towards Him, He loves you too. That’s right, He loves YOU! I know, I know, I don’t fully get it either, but I don’t really think that’s the point. In fact, the sheer fact that it makes no sense to me, I’ve done nothing to deserve His notice, let alone love, I’m not really that great of a person without those fruits of the Spirit that really aren’t of me in the first place, etc. etc. makes it that much more amazing that He loves me!
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