Ephesians Devotionals
Bob Morris
Gospel of Peace (Ephesians 6:15)
Stand … with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Paul earlier told us that Jesus preached peace to both Jew and Gentile (2: 17). Jesus is our peace – with each other (2: 14) and with God (2: 16). This is the good news of the gospel! Where there is good news, the devil trembles to see his domain threatened. However, he is content if we are quiet. It is only when we are ready to engage our world with the good news that we ourselves are steadied and ready to advance.
Once again, Paul is talking to the church as a community. If the church as the body of Christ forgets its mission to the world, she becomes inward looking, which inevitably leads to complacency and complaining, criticism and disillusionment. On the other hand, the missional church, made ready by the gospel of peace, is constantly being honed through service and suffering, by seeking others’ well-being and not her own.
Roman legionnaires wore caliga, half-boots made of leather that had heavily studded soles, but left the toes free. They were well designed for maximum traction and yet mobility. That is fitting imagery for the need to “make the most of every opportunity…so you may know how to answer everyone” (Col. 4: 5-6).
The the readier we are to tell others the good news, the more stable we will be in our faith. Paul’s language and the metaphor itself suggest that sometimes the best defence is offence. To stand firm is not always to stand still. Elsewhere Paul says
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:4-5)
That is not describing a passive church, content just with survival. It is standing firm in the truth and in obedience to the gospel.
At the risk of mixing metaphors, sometimes the best equipment we have is the right mindset. If we are pre-occupied with our own lives, our own concerns, our own comfort and safety, we are more likely to “settle” than “scatter”. In the memorable words of Brenda Salter-McNeil at Urbana 06, pointing to Abraham’s father Terah’s experience in Haran (Gen. 11: 32) “Where you settle you die. God wants to hear our ‘Yes’ to moving forward”. Paul’s imagery is particularly apt. Feet shod with the readiness of the gospel are constantly following God into new adventures and new challenges with a view to blessing others through the gospel.
When we are standing on holy ground, it is appropriate to take off our shoes, as Moses was commanded at the burning bush (Ex. 3: 5). But when we are walking about in the world, where Jesus has sent us (John 17: 18) we do well to keep our boots on.
Father, help us always to push forward and follow your leading even into the unknown future. May we always be ready to give an answer to those who ask us the reason for the hope that we have.
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