Monday 3/6/13

Ephesians 6:15-16 ESV

and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

The next two pieces of the armor of God are the shoes of the gospel and the shield of Faith.

Shoes are for mobility. With the shoes protecting our feet, we can go anywhere - any thorny ground, any rough terrain. The shoes also protect us from slippery ground and help us walk firm. Similarly, the Gospel is our spiritual shoes. With it, God will protects our feet so we can go anywhere without slipping or pain. The Gospel helps us go through rough mountains, slippery slopes and thorny grounds.

As the breastplate passively protects us, the shield actively defends us. We use it to block incoming arrows and swords. Similarly, our faith helps us defend against the fiery arrows the devil shooting at us.

Unlike the breastplate, we must use our shield. We must stand firm, look straight at the incoming dangers and  put pur shield forward. A good shield will not fail us. So we must apply our faith, stand firm and show it at the incoming attacks. God's shield will not fail us, it cannot be broken.