Growing up with two brothers I learned to easily adjust from playing teacher with my dolls to playing pretend war between the Russians and the Americans with my brothers. Growing up under Former USSR, somehow the Russians always won. (Today our family enjoys a peace treaty with the Americans, since I married into the culture. 🙂 )
Quite often our childhood games entailed being part of an army. Having brothers, it was a given. Unlike a true soldier, we’d take our shoes off, we’d pick up a plastic toy gun, and we’d start chasing each other as if we were enemies. Our toes kissing the hot and rough ground underneath somehow made it fun. All good until one day, when a big Moldovan “ouch!’ came gushing out of my mouth, followed by some involuntary tears dripping off my chubby little cheeks. I had stepped on a rusty nail.
I might have had the gun to fight in our pretend war, but my toe… oh my little toe injured me good, and turned me into the victim rather than the victorious.
A New View
When Paul challenges us to put on the FULL Armour of God, you’d better expect he would mention the shoes bit. Can you imagine going to war without protected feet? The adverbs ‘hard’, ‘difficult’, ‘slightly uncomfortable’ are out of the equation. It’s truly impossible!
“Stand firm then.. with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ” Ephesians 6:14a-15
Most sermons I heard on this particular verse refer to these shoes as the shoes ready to go and share the gospel. They base it on passages like Romans 10:15 “… How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
The more I dug into the passage and researched it, I strongly believe this specific passage doesn’t point to that.
Here apostle Paul is talking about us being fully armed and ready to STAND FIRM to outside attack. We’re not asked to GO pick a fight or share in this particular verse. We’re not the messenger here, we’re the soldier.
Why at war? Because we live on enemy territory. A fight will be picked on us. We will be bullied, we will be harassed, we will be tested, and we will be tempted. The enemy’s goal is to put us to the ground, and call himself victorious.
But, that’s not going to happen if we have God on our side.
“What, then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31
Roman soldier shoes
Paul lived during the Roman Empire. Being handcuffed and closely guarded so often by soldiers because of his faith, he had front seat to observe details of their armour. God inspired him to use it as perfect imagery to show Christians how to stay protected.
The Roman soldier’s sandals were equipped (not adorned) with hob nails on the bottom, turning these meek sandals into army shoes. They were vital to a soldier to not be wobbly on rough, or slippery ground. Grabbing onto the dirt underneath, it gave stability when swaying your body from harm’s way. The sturdier the sandals, the longer they would last covering more distance, enduring the fight to the end. A foot injury meant debilitation.
I heard John MacArthur explain that ‘the belt of truth’, ‘the breastplate of righteousness’, and ‘the shoes of readiness’ are the first things you put on, and are always on you no matter if the battle is tame, or tense. The other three pieces of armour: ‘the shield’, ‘the helmet’, and ‘the sword’ can be put down momentarily when things seem more calm, to take a short break. But, you’d never take your shoes off.
Always ready. That’s our call.
Always ready to stand firm in the truth of God even when family, or friends find us strange.
Always ready to trust that God is on our side of the battle, even when we can’t feel His love, or presence.
Always ready to rely on the Gospel that gives us “the peace that surpasses all understanding” in spite of the tragic events, and painful trials we go through.
Always ready to stand up for what’s true, and not cower in silence when opportunities come.
Always ready to respond godly when others try to hurt us, and mistreat us.
Always ready to not give into our weaknesses that Satan will try to use against us: pride, selfishness, lust, greed, idolatry, self- sufficiency, hypocrisy, busyness etc.
Peace
Doubt, fear, worry, bitterness are exact opposites of the gospel of peace. Peace doesn’t result from peaceful and comfortable circumstances. Peace is acquired in Jesus.
Imagine you are one of the disciples. You’ve spent around three years by Jesus’ side.
Then, He tells you “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father… A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.”
As Jesus describes their immediate future. If I were one of the disciples, fear would grip my heart, worry would overwhelm my soul, confusion would stir my mind, uncertainty would steal my peace away.
Jesus knew where their minds ran to as He spoke. Yet, this is how He encourages them: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
In conclusion, we need to take to heart this simple short verse “Stand firm then.. with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ” Ephesians 6:14a-15
There’s a saying that ‘Good shoes take you good places’, I’ll adjust it by saying ‘Godly shoes of readiness take you in godly places’.
Don’t go barefoot! You might step on a rusty nail!