Sandals of Peace

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. ;)