Shoes of Peace
The other day I had an insight about our "feet being fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace". You know, from the armour of God in Eph. 6. In the past, I've interpreted that phrase to mean that we are always ready to share the good news with people we meet and that our feet literally carry us into those conversations. While I still hold to this interpretation, I'm getting a fuller picture of how the gospel of peace is "offensive armour" and how it impacts our approach to others. Let me explain....
One of the main tactics of Satan is fear and intimidation. Fear paralyzes us and keeps us from obeying God. Fear of others - of what they will think of us or of how they will react to us - is a signficiant battle in many peoples' lives. Much mental and emotional energy is spent coping with the tensions of potentially stressful interactions or genuine intense conflict with others. The gospel of peace radically influences our attitudes towards others. The good news that Jesus died to atone for our sins and that we may be completely forgiven and thoroughly cleansed brings us peace with God and ourselves. But is also brings peace with others. In Eph. 2:14-18 says "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace ot those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." (NIV) In this passage, Paul is talking about the Jews and Gentiles Christians. They are no longer enemies but united in Christ. The hostility with all its fear, intimidation, pride, and violence is over. Peace reigns in those relationships - or at least it could reign if the gospel is believed.
And here is my point: if we believe the gospel - that through Christ all people have access to the Father by the Holy Spirit - the fear we have of others, even our enemies, can stop. Having our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace means that we approach people as those whom Christ died for, as those who are loved and accepted by God, as our brothers and sisters in Christ or as those who need only to acknowledge Jesus as Saviour and Lord to receive this amazing gift of peace that has already been given. The war is over. Fear and intimidation don't win. Jesus is victorious and we can walk confident in the peace he gives us: with God, ourselves, and others. With regards to non-Christians, the readiness does include the element of being willing to share this good news. With regards to our brothers and sisters in Christ, the wall of hostility is broken down. We ARE united in Christ. Whether we believe that and live like that is our choice. Putting on the shoes of peace is a very practical way to bring that belief into action. The shoes of peace enable us to be the ones who take the initiative with others. It is an offensive piece of armour because the gospel of peace motivates and empowers us to reach out to others. We are ready and willing to reject the fear that would separate us from engaging in true fellowship (or evangelism) and instead extend our hand (or hug) in peace. We are ready and willing to see even the "worst of sinners" (in our opinion) as recipients of God's amazing grace and treat them in light of that grace even if they can't see it yet.
As I write this, I realize that it sounds pretty theoretical but I truly believe that the Lord means for us to live it. I know that I'm particularly challenged by the idea that my approach towards others has less to do with my opinions or expectations of others and more to do with God's attitude of love towards them. I'm interested in hearing any comments, stories, or feedback you may have as you put on the shoes of peace day by day, or maybe just in a very specific relationship that God is bringing to your mind right now. Peace of Christ, Tracy
As I process your thoughts, Tracy, I have to admit the biggest obstacle between me and how I approach others is ME! Before I can try to approach others with the mindset of how God sees and values them (or, perhaps, concurrent to this ... ) I need to get clear on how God sees and values me. When I feel unlovable and unworthy I stay far, far away from other people.
ReplyDeleteI just came back from walking the dogs and I was thinking about this, trying to come up with a visual for what's going on with me at the moment ... the idea struck me that when I see myself as God sees me, I become "Lianne in high-definition" ... bright, in sharp focus, vibrant, alive. When I concentrate too much on how I see myself, or how I fear the world sees/evaluates me, I'm the opposite of that - dull, fuzzy, out of focus, transparent. These days I spend so much time inside my own head - ugh! - it's easy to start to doubt my worth and value ... need to meditate on God's standards ... on Christ reflected in my life. Oh, and I need to remember - it's not all about ME!!!!!
Also, further to something I wrote about Tracy's previous post (Galatians) - I mentioned trying to support my former husband and said, "and when that didn't work ...blah, blah, blah ... ". I ought to have said, "when that didn't yield the results I was expecting ... " !! This is an important distinction because in caring for others I think we always need to be checking our expectations and motives. Even in the Christian community I find that when things don't go a certain way, people tend to back away from those they're supposedly helping. May-be this is a good thing - as in, it may be a sign that the person in need needs to pick up their own load ... or may-be it's a reflection of how we tie our expressions of faith to our own need to be helpful/right/successful.
Lianne,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your honesty about how you view yourself. Our self-perception is one of the areas that the armour of God and taking every thought captive to Christ is so necessary! I have a memory of a time that I was confronted with the Word of God and had a battle deciding if I was going to believe what the Bible said about me or what I felt about myself. What happened was I stumbled upon Romans 15:7 "Accept one another then, just as Christ has accepted you in order to bring praise to God." The words "just as Christ has accepted you" jumped out at me. Questions flooded my mind: How could Christ accept me - just like that? How could I continue to view myself as unacceptable if Christ HAD accepted me? I chose to believe God's Word and it was a significant turning point in my self-image.