Gospel of Peace

Ephesians 6:15

and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Good morning Zebras,

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving weekend. Last week I started a series on the armor of God and I have continued thinking about it ever since.

We started with the belt of truth, the first piece to be put on and the piece that holds everything else in place. Getting your thinking in line with the truth of Scripture is a task that is so worth the effort. Understanding that God is holy, sovereign, all-powerful, good, loving and on your side is a truth that will change your life.

Next we put on the breast plate of righteousness, which is the right standing and divine nature given to us by God through the cross. Living like we are children of God is necessary for our good mental health. No one is happy as an underachiever.

Today we get to the gospel of peace which Paul compares to shoes.

When I was young the most important thing about a shoe was its looks. I was willing to sacrifice comfort for fashion but walking nine miles a day as a letter carrier cured me of that. Having a shoe I could walk in all day was crucial to getting the job done. I gained a new appreciation for good shoes

Recently I have gained that same appreciation for the gospel. I used to think that the gospel was only for the “lost.” The fact that Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose again on the third day was great news but you really only needed to hear it once. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Getting up each morning and putting on the gospel is the best thing a girl can do for herself, because the gospel is the greatest demonstration of the love and power of God. Christ’s death and resurrection reconciled us to God and defeated the power of sin. It is the reason that we can walk through the difficulties of life with peace. And wearing it gets us ready for whatever lies ahead.

Maybe I am the only mother who almost always says to their children, “Are you ready to go, do you have your shoes on?” before leaving the house. But I don’t think so. We all know that it is important to have physical shoes on to go anywhere.

And it is important to wear the right shoes. We know we need to match our shoes to the task at hand. As Christians our task is to reach others for Christ and for that we need the “shoes of the gospel.” Fortunately they go with everything.

Love,
Jill