Faith is imaged by Paul as a shield. I have been pondering how often we use other
things as shields instead of faith. How
many times have I used the wrong thing to protect me from the wrong enemies?
The shield that Paul speaks of in Ephesians is a tower
shield. The Greek word refers to a large
four cornered shield shaped like a door.
The Romans knew how to use these very effectively. If this is the image of what I am to use as
protection from my enemies it bears some pondering. It is also significant that Paul tells us
that this action of using a shield of faith is “above all” his other
instructions.
We cannot hope to stand without the protection of
faith. We try to endure the world with
other things as our protection. We try
to withstand evil with politics, opinions, and debate. We try to make laws to put forth our
particular moral views. As a follower of
Christ my protection is my faith or better, my faith is my protection.
How can I hope to withstand the evil in the world without
it? If I do not have a deep faith then
my protection is lessened. Since Jesus
is both the author and completer of our faith it is in following him that faith
is deepened. When I count on anything
outside of Christ for my protection it will surely fail me.
I have done this too often.
I have looked to men, books, and traditions to bolster my faith. The shield can only be made stronger by the
armorer. The creator of faith is
Jesus. If this sounds disjointed I
apologize but it is hard to not be simplistic here and the simplicity sounds
well, too simple. I suppose that is why
faith is also to be like that of a child.
Deeper faith means a larger stronger shield. I can only obtain that by following Christ
more closely and more consistently.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer
who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home
owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store."
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