The King’s Wardrobe, Part 3: The Shoes of Peace
In my book The Sword of Truth: An Allegory About Recovering Truth, Albert had learned something valuable in the Valley of Echoes. We must be prepared with the truth. Sometimes it has to be defended. When Corven and his followers surrounded them, Albert and Charles had been forced to stand their ground. Every voice had tried to pull them in a different direction away from truth. Every lie had been designed to make them doubt what they knew to be true. But Albert had also noticed something else. Before he could swing the sword, he had to stand. His feet had to be firm.
Boxers spend a great deal of time practising their footwork because their balance and movement depend on their stance. If their feet are not properly placed, everything else suffers. Albert’s feet had to remain firm beneath him while Corven attacked.
Now, as he walked beside Charles towards Prosperia, Albert thought about the shoes the King had given him. Walk in peace, wherever I send you. He had not understood the words when he first read them. But by the end of their journey, he was beginning to.
The Shoes
The Apostle Paul gives us a brilliant picture of a soldier preparing for battle. In Ephesians 6, he describes the armour of God. His readers would have understood the image. Roman soldiers were a familiar sight in the world Paul lived in, and during his imprisonment Paul himself was surrounded by soldiers. When Paul speaks about our feet being fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, he is not giving us a picture of a soldier who has taken his shoes off to rest. He is giving us a picture of someone who is prepared to stand. The Roman soldier’s footwear was practical. It protected his feet as he marched over difficult ground and helped him maintain his footing. A soldier needed to be able to stand when the battle came. A soldier who cannot stand will fall. Paul knew his audience would understand this picture of armour and preparation. The soldier prepared himself before the battle. He did not wait until the fighting had started before putting on his equipment.
So what are the shoes?
The shoes are part of God’s armour that prepare the Christian to stand firm. Without this preparation, we can easily be shaken when trials come.
But what prepares us?
The gospel of peace.
We were once alienated from God because of our sin. The gospel is not a trinket designed to make us feel better. It is not a vague symbol of inner peace.
The Christian’s peace begins with God through Jesus Christ. It is not a peace produced by comfortable circumstances, positive thinking or self-help. We are sinful people who were once separated from God, but through Christ and His finished work on the cross, we are reconciled to God. So when Paul speaks of the gospel of peace, the fundamental truth is the good news that sinners can be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. This changes how we face the battle. We are not entering spiritual battle trying to earn God’s acceptance. Christ has already accomplished our salvation. We have peace with God through Jesus Christ, not through our ability to stand. That gives the Christian firm footing. When temptation comes, the believer does not have to think:
“Maybe God will accept me if I fight hard enough.”
No, we can say:
“I belong to Christ. God has reconciled me to Himself. Therefore I can stand in His strength.”
The gospel gives us a settled understanding of reality.
We know:
- who God is;
- who Christ is;
- what Christ has accomplished;
- what sin is;
- what salvation is;
- who we are in Christ;
- what God has promised;
- where history is ultimately going.
This matters because Satan’s attacks involve lies and deception. The gospel gives us truth to stand upon.
But the gospel does not simply give us information.
The gospel prepares us to obey.
The gospel changes our hearts and produces a life of obedience. Paul’s argument throughout Ephesians is essentially this: because of what God has done for us in Christ, we are to live accordingly. Being fitted with the gospel therefore means being prepared to walk according to the truth we have received.
1. It means trusting Christ.
2. It means obeying Christ.
3. It means standing for what is true even when it is difficult.
4. It means having our feet planted firmly in the peace we have with God through Christ.
Albert was beginning to understand that the shoes were not about making himself strong. The King was the source of his strength. Paul begins his description of the armour by telling Christians to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Albert could not stand because he was strong enough in himself. He could stand because the King had given him what he needed to stand.
When our circumstances change from peace to chaos, the gospel gives us a solid ground on which we can stand on.
Apply this:
Read the Bible daily meditate on it. Know who Jesus is. Know God. We cannot stand if we are not ready.
Know the Word, know Christ, know God, be prepared, stand.
Written by Daniel J.York
Add comment
Comments