New Shoes

I bought new walking shoes the other day. The soles of the pair I’ve worn almost daily for more than two years had worn smooth and lost their grip. Even the interior padding was falling apart. They still provided protection from uneven roads and ill weather, but they no longer offered the strength and support my tired feet need to negotiate a rocky path with purpose. When I’d lost confidence in their ability to carry me across difficult terrain, I chose smooth roads. I picked my way over the easy ground, avoiding more adventurous routes.

I came to a place on that straight, smooth road where a less-followed trail diverged into the woods. I took a good, long look at my old shoes and hesitated to take the new road, to embark on the adventures it had to offer, because I felt inadequately prepared for the journey.

When I bought those old shoes a couple of years ago, I didn’t recognize their metaphoric likeness to the preparation of the Gospel of peace in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, the well-known ‘Armor of God’ verses: “… and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace …” (Ephesians 6:15).

It occurred to me that I hadn’t shod my feet with preparation of the Gospel of peace.

While I have sought refuge among the psalms, wisdom in the epistles and God’s voice in reflections and prayers, I rounded out my Bible study reviewing the Old Testament in a history-based Sunday school class. Then, I pretty much left the Gospels to Sunday morning worship because I typically ponder a good Gospel-based sermon well into the week.

Although that keeps the Gospel in my mind, it doesn’t necessarily move the Gospel to my heart. Just as my old walking shoes clearly would not meet my needs for support and protection along an adventurous new path, my haphazard study habits were insufficient preparation for traveling a new road in life in peace.

So I bought new shoes – and reviewed again Priscilla Shirer’s study of the Armor of God.