Skip to main content

These Boots Are Made For Walkin'





Stand firm then,...with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (Ephesians 6:14a& 15)

 

      Several years ago while taking a walk in the snow, I realized how much my new hiking boots freed me. I could walk in snow...on ice...in the cold without as much difficulty as I would have in walking shoes.  Obviously, hiking boots also free one to walk in the summer, too. Some people think that freedom is flip flops, but I don't want to wear flip flops on a real walk. I'm too likely to step on or in something or to twist an ankle. Flip flops are footwear for the casual, not the unpredictable or strenuous.
       When the New Testament was written, may people went barefoot. Those who were wealthier might wear sandals. Soldiers wore something sturdier. Consider the footwear of soldiers today - combat boots aren't pretty. They don't show off your pedicure and might not let your toes breathe and wiggle, but for standing your ground, for standing against an enemy, give me combat boots or hiking boots every time.  They protect the foot from outside dangers. They also help you stand by supporting the foot and ankle.
        Again, what is it that carries us along those rocky, unpredictable and often strenuous paths of life? It is the gospel, the good news, of peace. If you look out the door and see a friend walking up the sidewalk, you open the door and let him in. If you see an enemy, you not only lock it, but add other security devices and then you hide. The friend brings peace.
      We are sent out as representatives of God with a message of peace. It is that message that carries us forward and makes our footing sure. It is not a message of surrender or accommodation. It is not a message asking for terms or opening negotiations. Surrender is required of those to whom we go but the surrender brings peace.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ground Hog's Day

Birthday of James Joyce

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Way, The Truth, and The Life

              Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me . (John 14:6)           If “I am the gate of the sheep…I am the good shepherd” from chapter 10 is a double whammy, this verse is a triple whammy. And its first victim is the notion that any other so-called god was acceptable or the same as Jesus. He, and He alone is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to get to the Father. There is no other Savior, or Redeemer, according to Jesus. Now, to be fair, other religions will claim that their religion or god(s) are the only way. That is the nature of gods and of religions. If this and that are equally good and agree on what’s necessary, then this and that are the same thing, so there’s no need to from the other to one. If that’s the case, then why speak against the other or promote the one? There’s a song I’ve been listening to i...
Post a Comment
Read more