Wearing our shoes of peace

Ephesians 6:15 "... and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace"

It's almost been a month since my last entry on this series and as I thought over the course of the last week about coming back to write something, I always found myself getting distracted, finding something else to do or, as we can all attest to at some points in our lives, putting it off and resolving to "get to it tomorrow".

Aha.

Today as I was giving thought to what it was that I would write about feet fitted in readiness, a question kept coming to my mind in light of my absence from blogging:

Where are your feet taking you? 

Are your feet taking you towards God in times of challenges and opportunities, or are they taking you through the meaningless drift of everyday life... washing the car, a busy work schedule and social life, money issues, going to the gym... in other words, are your feet running you into the ground so to speak with the worries of the world versus the promise of the Kingdom?

The reality is that too often we face life's most challenging battles with feet suited up with the world's sneakers as opposed to God's own Nikes.  The world's sneakers don't fit half as well, they provide no real stability and, frankly, after you wear them a few times your feet get sore and it drags you down.

By contrast, God's Nikes -- built by the Gospel of Peace -- ground the wearer in wisdom, in confidence, in strength and in comfort.  Everyone wants that in a shoe... especially when they are facing a battle.  Paul himself talked about the need to press on (Philippians 3:14) in the face of every difficulty because the prize (eternal life with our loving Father) is so worth it.  But, he says, you ultimately need to stand (Philippians 4:1).  With His peace.

I love the imagery of kicking off those old worldly sneakers in that ante-room off the Throne Room of Heaven... Angel Gabriel jumps out of the way as your old sneakers get booted across the gleaming marble, and you push your feet into a new pair -- a lasting, eternal pair -- of knowledge, of abiding love, of salvation.  

Can't you see yourself -- you have to face another day of monotony or hardship... your feet, your very soul (no pun intended) are weary, you don't think you can face or literally stand, another minute... and then God pulls out a pair of shoes... HIS PEACE... that give you a new lease on life, on energy and on strength.  It's what good shoes do. It's what God DOES. All. The. Time.

But there's more... with the privilege of wearing those shoes, that critical piece of the Armor of God, comes the realization that with the "readiness" (read: stability, strength, certitude) of the gospel of peace comes the need to not only stand your ground but to ensure you are moving His will forward with every step you take.  Because, yes, shoes help you stand strong and to be grounded... but shoes help you to move too... and that's what God wants -- commands -- you do ... to move His Word among the family you love, the friends you hang out with, the colleagues you share 8+ hours a day, 5 days a week with... He wants you to use His shoes of the gospel of peace not only to ground yourself but to spread yourself so as to ensure that the knowledge and hope you have from knowing Him is shared with as wide a circle as possible.

And what exactly are these shoes -- or rather, how does one define a term like "the gospel of peace"? Simple: Jesus.

Ephesians 2:14-18: "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit".

We have confidence in the gospel of peace because we have accepted Christ as our Savior... it means every battle has been won, including the ultimate one which is the one where Christ defeated death, sin and destruction so that we might enjoy the eternal gift of life with Him.  As you wear these shoes, don't you feel the need to spread the peace that you know? People are hurting all around you .  We must exercise our responsibility to share that peace God has given us -- it's one of the requirements of our salvation primarily, but also something we recommit ourselves to whenever we dress in God's Armour.  

Each day is a battle, my friends... one side seeks nothing less than the destruction of man (John 10:10), while the other seeks more and more children to bring home to eternity with Him (Luke 19:10)... if we're wearing the Armour the way we should be, we need to point our shoes in the direction of sharing the truth and move that way for God.

Which gets me back to the beginning... 4 weeks without blogging... without sharing what God places on my heart is not what I am called to do.  Wearing those shoes of the gospel of peace have grounded me, and ground me daily, but I have a higher responsibility beyond just focusing on what it has done for ME... I have to use that peace that grounds me and share it around me, through all the talents and means God has blessed me with.

At the end of the day, when you're wearing the shoes of God, you are never too busy to go in the direction He points us.  When He wants us to stand, we stand.  But we always have to be looking for the next path on which we can walk with our special special shoes.