Ephesians 6:10-18
At the end of my time in Basic Training for service in the
US Army Reserves, our platoon was put into the field one night to test our
skills and to make sure we knew how to use our tools—maps and compasses, field
radios, hand-grenades, M-16-A1 rifles, flashlights, and more. The platoon was divided
up into squads of five or six soldiers each, and we were given a spot on the
other side of the valley we had to make it to without being discovered by
others who were looking for us. We did fine, even though I was going through
the motions with ‘walking pneumonia’ (my sergeant made it clear—“you can go to
sick bay and start the training over, or you can push on through and graduate
with your platoon…”). One of the takeaways from that night is the obvious fact
that our tools do nothing for us unless we use them.
Paul, writing to the church at Ephesus, wanted to share the
same message with them as I learned that night in Basic Training. God gives us
tools to fight against evil, chaos, and darkness. Like our world today, the
same forces of evil pushed against the followers of Jesus in Ephesus. Evil can
be understood as anything or anyone who works against God and the ways of God.
So, those ideas and messages that encourage us to think only of ourselves, to
break the rules when it suits us, to say whatever we want and however we want,
to think too highly of ourselves or too lowly of ourselves—these are all evil.
Paul reminds the church of the tools we’ve been given to
combat the works and voices of evil: truth, righteousness, peace, faith,
salvation, the Word of God, and prayer. Just like the tools Uncle Sam gave me
to fight enemies, “foreign and domestic,” God gives us tools to fight against
evil, against chaos, against darkness. The verbs Paul uses make it very clear
that the tools rely on our using them—take up, put on, hold on to. We have to
act. We have to put these tools to use.
We need truth—the truth of God’s amazing love for us in
world where we are told constantly that we’re not good enough. Righteousness
(or ‘rightness’)—to do what is right, even when it may not ‘benefit’ us, in a
world that whispers to us that we should take shortcuts or do whatever gets us
ahead. Peace—in a world filled with violence…violent acts and violent words.
Faith (or trust)—in God’s goodness, in God’s presence, in God’s promise to work
all things together for good. Salvation—knowing it is ours thanks be to God’s
grace…whether we feel saved or not. The Word of God—to remind of all we know
and to teach us what we need to know. And, prayer—the one thing that connects
us to God.
With these tools, we combat the works and words of evil. With
confidence, we can walk into battle.
Sunday, September 1,
2024
“Walking…into Battle”
Watch/Listen: HERE