War and Peace

Read Ephesians 6:10-20

When I was a kid I used to love playing war. I remember one summer finding the perfect stick to be my sword. It had a swelled area at one end that looked just like a sword grip and it had been broken in such a way that the tip looked like a blade.  

Oh, the battles I fought that summer. With a pot lid as my shield and my “sword” in hand I protected my kingdom from all invaders. Yeah…I was that kid. 

My brother, 6 years older than me, used to make fun of me running around our yard swinging my stick around. “Who do you think you’re fighting this time, Sir Geeks-a-Lot?”

Every time I read Ephesians 6, my heart starts pumping strong: armor, swords, shields. Maybe not the type I imagined (I mean really, who would use a book as a sword, there’s not a pointy end!), but weapons of war none-the-less.  

Our world today seems constantly at war. At war over ideas, over words, over rights, over political opinions. But at some point we have to stop and ask, “Who is our real enemy? What should we really be at war against?”

Paul makes it clear our real battle is not against each other, but against the forces of spiritual evil, against the things that enslave us to sin and eternal death.  

The weapons and armor of God—His Word, His truth, His righteousness, His gospel, His faith, His salvation—they are weapons designed to end the wars within and without. They bring us peace. Peace with God and peace with one another.   

by Jim Caler