Ninety-one years ago last week, the "War To End All Wars" came to a close. Since that time, we've witnessed countless wars in our country and throughout the world. Spiritually speaking, we'll continue to war against Satan until our lives on earth come to a close. The great news, however, is that God has provided us with the necessary tools in combating our formidable enemy. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, the apostle Paul urged both 1st and 21st century Christians to "take up the whole armor of god" in order to "withstand" Satan and his power (Ephesians 6:13-18). As veterans of God's army, our armor should have a certain look to it.
The Christian's armor must include the belt of truth that "girds our waist. Our belt ought not be really shiny and new. The truth that saves us must be well-worn and used, something that fits right and that we value. God's truth isn't something to be taken lightly, but rather it's used to "hold us up" and give us confidence.
The veteran's armor must also include a breastplate of righteousness. Like our belts, these breastplates shouldn't be shiny and free from indentations. Typical, 1st century Roman army breastplates would surround the torso of the warrior. Our righteousness should show signs of wear and evidence of our facing Satan head on no matter where we are or what we do.
Christians are to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel's peace. Shoes only look new when we don't wear them often. Our spiritual shoes will be scuffed up, marked up, and stepped on as we constantly wear the incredible peace of the gospel. Furthermore, that gospel protects our feet from so many things that would otherwise slow our progress or cause harm to our spiritual bodies.
The armor of a Christian veteran also includes a dented shield of faith. The purpose of the shield is to "quench all the fiery darts" of Satan. If our shields don't look used, it's likely a sign that we haven't been out in front actively fighting our enemy. Perhaps even more frightening, this might be evidence that we've lowered our shields and allowed those darts to pierce us and deaden our spiritual fortitude.
As Christians, we wear a helmet to protect our heads. Soldiers' helmets are usually dusty, dirty, often wet, and are clear testimonies to the various battles they've fought. Our helmet of salvation must also reflect our battles. Paul told us to "work out" our salvation and that means our helmets will show the efforts we've put forth (Philippians 2:12).
Christian veterans are also to use the sword which is the word of God as our sole offensive weapon. A clean, unworn, unmarked, and unread Bible is nothing more than a place for dust to collect. Bibles that are well-read are evidence of a Christian's dependence on his sword in order to be an effective soldier in God's army.
With the thought of veterans so recently on our minds, perhaps now is as great a time as any to consider the many Christian veterans who have gone before and then to consider our continual work in being faithful soldiers in God's army. And, let us be certain to have our well-worn armor ready for all the battles that lie ahead.