Skip to main content

"These Boots Are Made For Walking!"


            and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (Ephesians 6:15)

            Years ago, after not owning hiking boots for a long time, I bought a pair. I know a lot of people who think flip flops give them freedom, but I have to tell you, I have never felt freer than wearing those boots. The song, “These Boots Are Made For Walking” came to mind because when I wore them, I felt like I could walk anywhere, in any weather. Yes, I could have sprained an ankle, or worse, wearing them, but I felt as if such a thing were impossible. They were footwear for someone who could conquer the world by wearing them. That’s an exaggeration, but that’s the sort of feeling that a good pair of boots gives.
          When you’re fighting a war, boots make you ready to move in whatever direction you need to move. In today’s passage, the readiness we feel comes from the gospel of peace. Gospel means good news. Peace is the lack of conflict.       
           If you are at peace, you aren’t fighting with anything. That means that either you rule everything (and everyone’s happy with that) or that you have surrendered and have accepted your place in the universe. One of those possibilities just “ain’t gonna happen” but can you imagine – or have you experienced - how freeing surrender is?
           Some people may struggle with surrender producing freedom. Going along with God’s rules for the universe seems to some to be the opposite. It’s a “Stepford” existence, mechanically doing what one is told because one can’t do otherwise. But there’s another way to see it. If you are at peace with your society, you have the freedom to go where you will. The fact of being at peace means you don’t have an overwhelming desire to go somewhere you’re not supposed to. If you aren’t at peace with your society, chances are good that you and those around you will be miserable, and that you’ll end up in jail, with your freedom curtailed.
         Freedom is not the lack of restraint; it is the willingness to work within it. So, got your boots on?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more