The Doorpost: Spiritual footwear

… and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
Ephesians 6:15

Can you imagine a soldier going into battle barefoot? Can you imagine a farmer doing his work barefoot? In many situations in life, a person who is barefoot is at a significant disadvantage to someone who has the correct footwear for the occasion. The proper footwear protects and enhances the effectiveness of our feet so we can work with greater skill and confidence. In this passage Paul tells us that, for Christians, our readiness of our spiritual feet to stand in the battle against the devil comes from the gospel of peace.

What is the gospel of peace? Romans 5:1-2a says, “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not because of anything we have done. He has given us access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

Our enemy will try to get us to focus on ourselves. He will point out our sins and weaknesses and we may wonder, “How could God possibly accept me?” As long as we have this doubt, we won’t have the confidence to enter the battle. We will be as helpless as a barefooted soldier on a battlefield of broken glass. The only way we can be ready for battle is to depend only on the peace we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is how we put on our spiritual footwear.