Meditation for Monday
And your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. Ephesians 6:15
When he was technical director of the Manhattan Project during the second world war, Dr. Robert Oppenheimer and other project members appeared before a US congressional committee to report on the progress toward creating an atomic bomb. Their report caused shock and amazement among committee members as Oppenheimer described the destructive incredible power of the bomb. After listening to the report, one of the shocked committee members asked Oppenheimer if there was any defense against such a weapon. ‘Only one,’ Oppenheimer told him, ‘Peace!’ Although they are opposites, the terms ‘war’ and ‘peace’ always go together. Someone (Leo Tolstoy) even wrote a book with that name. Before every war, peace has always been desperately clung to by some on each side. During every war, at least one side has had peace as its ultimate goal. After every war, peace has always been hailed by at least one side as a successful outcome of the conflict. So in the Christian conflict, we as soldiers must never lose sight of the peace of God that we are to tell sinners about.
Before we were saved, we were at war with God. After we were saved, we joined the war against God’s enemies. Enraged that he has lost us as his eternal prey, the devil seeks to destroy our joy and our testimony, so he can limit the glory that our lives will bring to our Lord. A vital part of our struggle against this enemy is our responsibility to carry the Gospel of peace. We who have found peace with God are to tell others of this peace, that they may be delivered from wrath and enter into this same peace.
The Great Commission that the Lord Jesus first gave to His disciples is to go into all the world with the Gospel. This Commission has been passed down to us; it becomes part of what we are as Christians. That is why the whole armour of God that we read of in Ephesians 6 includes the Gospel boots of today’s text. The preparation of the Gospel of peace is the active desire to be involved in the furtherance of the Gospel, the ability to explain and discuss the Gospel with those around us, and the living out of the truth of the Gospel’s impact on our own souls. We can’t all preach the Gospel ourselves, but we can do all we can to support those who do. We can also acquaint ourselves with the Gospel message and memorize Gospel verses so that we can speak to others. We can also live so close to our Lord that the proof of the Gospel’s impact on us is evident to those around us.
Bravely pull on the Gospel Boots today and know victory in the great battle to recover lost souls for the Lord. – Jim MacIntosh