Barefoot Christians

In Ephesians 6:10-18, the Apostle Paul tells us about the armor of God. In verses 10-11, he says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."

As I reflected on this familiar passage today, one word stood out to me -- "full." Paul says to put on the "full" armor of God. All of the armor, not just part of it. Which gave me pause. What was Paul implying in this passage? Given the opportunity to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power, were Christians failing to take advantage of all that was offered to them?

As I reflected on this prompting by the Holy Spirit, I came to the conclusion that, "Yes, we have failed to put on the full armor of God." Oh, we put it on, but from time to time we leave part of our armor laying on the shelf, discarded and unused.

Two of the main pieces of armor that I think we are failing to always put on are: 1) our sandals -- "feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace;" and, 2) our sword -- "take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God."

Surveys by the Barna Research Group and others have demonstrated that we live in an era of unprecedented biblical illiteracy. People simply do not know the Scriptures or the great stories of faith because they are not taking the time to read and study God's word. While 9 out of 10 homes have at least one Bible in them, only about 42% of people report reading the Bible outside of church during a given week. Biblical illiteracy is also a concern for our nation's educators. How are we supposed to communicate the truths of God's word to others if we don't even know it ourself?

Paul's descriptions of these two pieces of armor point to a warrior taking the battle to the streets, proactively going forth to conquer. Paul says that we should have the word as part of us so that we would be ready to share the gospel of peace with all we come into contact with. Likewise, by having a firm understanding and knowledge of Scripture, we will be able to confront false teachings and false doctrines whenever we see them.

We need to become more disciplined in our spiritual lives and be intentional in making time to read our Bibles daily, studying them and using them in our daily lives. If we don't fit our feet with the readiness that comes from having a working knowledge of the Scriptures, we'll find ourselves going around barefooted and without protection. We need to make sure that we put on the armor of God -- the FULL armor of God -- and take it with us where we go.

2 Timothy 3:14. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15. and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17. so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.