The past couple of weeks we have been looking at Ephesians 6:10-20 and
talking about the Armor of God. We have looked at the belt of truth, the
breastplate of righteousness and the sandals of peace and how each piece of
armor is vital for the Christian warrior. Today we are going to look at the
shield of faith, which is used to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil
one.
There are two important points that we need to understand about the shield
before we can really dive into understanding its importance for the Christian
warrior. The first is the type of shield that Paul would have been talking
about. He would have been referring to the typical Roman shield, which was
about two feet wide and four feet long and made from wood covered in leather.
This type of shield was predominantly used in group combat, as it was heavy and
slow. Thus, the warrior needed to be surrounded by allies for this shield to be
effective in combat. The second thing is that prior to battle, warriors would
soak their shields in water to make them fire resistant so that flaming arrows
would not burn them up in battle.
These two historical components teach us a lot about faith. First, it
teaches us that our faith requires a community. It teaches us that we need to
be in a Christian group so that our faith can withstand the attack of the
enemy. We have been designed by God to live in community, and our faith is no
different. It requires a group of believers around us to help us and support
us.
Second, the shield teaches us that our faith requires preparation before
battle. Just as the shield needed to be soaked in water before the battle, our
faith needs to have time where we soak it in the presence of God through prayer
and reading the Scripture. If we do not prepare our faith before battle, our
faith will not last through the battle.
So, I leave you with a couple of questions. Do you have a group of believers
around you — a community of believers that will help you in your faith? Are you
soaking your faith in the Scriptures and in prayer before the battles that the
evil one will throw at you?
Jonathan Naylor Associate Pastor at Mt. Pleasant Methodist Church
