Shoes of Peace
What are the best shoes you could own?
When I was young, having the right kind of shoes wasn’t as big of a deal as it is today. Today, the whole shoe culture has exploded to a whole new level!
For every kid, there are certain brands of shoes you might not want to wear and other brands you would love to have. And let’s be honest, that’s true for a lot of us as adults, too!
While the BRAND of shoe you wear might be important, what’s more important is that you have the right KIND of shoes you need to whatever it is you need to do.
When I was in high school, I played basketball. Basketball players need what kind of shoes? That’s right! Basketball shoes.
My son plays baseball. What kind of shoes do baseball players need? That’s right! Cleats.
My daughters, when they were younger, they danced. What kind of shoes do dancers need? Ballet shoes. Jazz shoes. Or tap shoes. Depends on the kind of dance.
You would never think of doing ballet in cleats. Or playing basketball in point shoes. That’s crazy.
You would fail and fall over and over again if you were wearing the wrong kind of shoes.
Falling and Failing
But how many people do you know who are trying to walk the Christian walk, but they keep failing and falling?
There are people all around us, and sometimes… it’s us, who are trying to walk the Christian walk but it’s a struggle. It’s like there are tripping hazards all around us. We fail and we fall and we try again, but things are not working as we try to not just talk the talk, but walk the walk when it comes to following Jesus and we’re wondering why?
Why is it so hard?
Why do we have so much trouble trying to stay on track as we follow Jesus?
Why do we feel so unprepared for the challenges we face?
Why is it so hard to share our faith with those around us?
A few years ago a research firm called the Barna Group did a study where they discovered that 47% of Christian teenagers found it hard to share their faith with their friends.
Think about that. About half of Christian teenagers, these are teenagers just like you who believe in Jesus, they go to church, they believe that Jesus came, he lived, he died, and he rose again. They believe that to their core. And yet, they find it hard to share what they believe about Jesus with someone else.
Why is that?
I would suggest the main reason is simply this, they are not wearing the right SHOES.
The Armor of God
In Ephesians 6, Paul is writing this letter to the Christians in an ancient city called Ephesus. Now here’s what you need to know, Paul loved these people dearly. He had spent three years with them. These were his sons and daughters in the faith. His brothers and sisters in the faith. So when you read these words, you’re reading his mail! And you need to hear the passion in his voice.
He writes…
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. – Ephesians 6.10-11
Paul wants these friends to know they are not alone.
AND… that they have access to the MIGHTY POWER of GOD!
Paul knows as followers of Jesus they are entering into a battle. He’s going to talk more about that battle and who we’re fighting against in the next verse.
But right here, he wants to remind them that whatever they face, whatever comes against them, whatever pain, whatever problem, whatever difficulty, whatever circumstance, they can BE STRONG because they have access to the MIGHTY POWER of God!
Paul would say it another way in a different place, he would say, “If God is FOR US, who can stand AGAINST US?” – Romans 8.31
So just think about this for a moment, every temptation you face, every problem you encounter, every difficulty you come up against, the mighty power of the living God is living inside of you. Remember that!
And then Paul says,
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. – Ephesians 6.11
The Armor of a King
Do you remember the story about when David fought Goliath?
Do you remember what King Saul tried to do for David before he faced the giant? He tried to give David his armor. It was too big for David and he didn’t wear it, but why would Saul do that?
It was because the king’s armor REPRESENTED the kings REPUTATION. When a king put his armor on another person, he was conveying on that person his rank, his identity, his status, and his victories!
Paul says that as followers of Jesus, we get to put on God’s armor. And by the way, God’s armor is especially designed and is just the right size for each of us! But when we put it on, we are wearing the reputation of our King! We are walking in HIS VICTORY! We are putting on HIS IMAGE, HIS IDENTITY!
And we will need this armor for the giants we face.
The Right Fight
Paul continues…
12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6.12
Did anybody ever watch Scooby-Doo as a kid? The two main characters were Scooby-Doo – a dog, and Shaggy. They rode around in this van they called the Mystery Machine solving crimes in different towns that were reportedly being done by ghosts and goblins and things like that.
In every episode, Scooby-Doo would discover that the real villian in the story wasn’t a ghost or goblin, but it was the greedy town banker, or the store owner, or someone like that.
The problem with growing up watching shows like Scooby-Doo is that we stopped believing in an enchanted world. I’m not saying that there are such things as ghosts and goblins, but there is a spiritual reality, an unseen world, that we often forget.
Paul says, our battle isn’t against each other, it’s not against flesh and blood. So any time we start fighting with each other our enemy knows he’s winning.
It would be like two football teams playing a hard fought game when, all of a sudden, one team stops playing the other team and is fighting each other on the sidelines.
Any time our enemy can get us fighting each other, he’s winning.
Our battle isn’t against each other, that’s not the right fight, it’s against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
So what do we need to enter into and WIN this fight?
We need the full armor of God!
The Armor
Paul says,
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.
Why do we need it?
So that…
Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. – Ephesians 6.13
In other words, one day this battle will be over. The question is, when it is, will you still be standing?
Paul writes…
14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. – Ephesians 6.14
The belt of truth is the truth of who you are in CHRIST! Don’t ever forget the truth about who you are in Christ. You are a beautiful, wonderful, child of God. That is WHO you are!
And then he says…
The Shoes
15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. – Ephesians 6.15
You didn’t know how important your shoes were to your faith!
You probably didn’t know that God cares about what kind of shoes you wear!
But, he does!
Paul says… put on shoes of PEACE.
That’s important, but for you to understand how important it is you have to understand this idea of PEACE.
How would you define the word Peace?
Absence of Conflict? Cease Fire?
Yes. But more than that.
Peace = The way things are supposed to be. Shalom.
In other words, as we walk in the way of Jesus we are striving to walk in a way that makes things the way they are supposed to be. We are walking TOWARD things that are NOT right, are not the way they are supposed to be, and we are striving to make them right, make them better, make relationships whole, make people well, make things the way they were always supposed to be.
That’s what the GOOD NEWS is!
The GOOD NEWS, the GOSPEL, is the message that Jesus came to make all things right and all things new.
That’s what Jesus did when he walked the planet. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and taught people about the Kingdom of God. Jesus is called the Prince of PEACE because He came to bring peace, to usher in peace, to make all things right and all things new!
How do we do that?
By putting on the shoes of peace.
A Soldier’s Shoes
Here’s another translation of that same verse. Listen to this….
You wear your eagerness and your passion to communicate the Good News like a soldier’s shoes. Announce peace. The battle has already been won! (from the Mirror Study Bible)
Picture a soldier who is running from town to town announcing that the enemy army has been defeated. The battle has been won. The people are safe. The soldiers are coming home. Things are going to be the way they were always supposed to be.
That’s Good News!
And we have this Good News to share with others!
We have Good News to share about a battle that has been won.
We have Good News to share about our enemy who has been defeated.
We have Good News to share about our King who is returning.
We have Good News about PEACE to share.
And we need to put on our RUNNING SHOES so we can run ahead to tell everyone everywhere about this Good News!
Are you ready and are you willing to RUN ahead and SHARE this Good News with others?
The Waffle Maker Shoe Story
How many of you know the story of Bill Bowerman?
Bill Bowerman was a running coach at the University of Oregon in the 1970’s. He was convinced there was a better way to make running shoes that were light weight and had more traction. He decided that he could make a shoe like that for his athletes that would give them the competitive edge.
So he stole his wife’s waffle maker from the kitchen and used it to melt rubber to create a new sole for his special running show he was making. And, it worked. He became the co-founder of Nike and his innovation became the foundation for Nike’s famous “Waffle” sole which revolutionized running shoes at the time!
Wearing the Right Shoes
Now, here’s the Good News. You don’t have to make the shoes you need to carry the Good News about Jesus and the PEACE He brings.
God gives you the shoes you need. These shoes are a GIFT!
And, they are the best shoes you can own.
Because, whenever there are people around you who are hurting and struggling, who don’t know which way to turn or what to do, you can RUN to them and you share with them this message of PEACE.
The battle has been won.
Our enemy has been defeated.
Our King is returning.
He will make all things right, and all things new.
This is the message of PEACE we have to share.
You don’t have to be a part of the 47% who find it hard to share their faith.
When you’re wearing the right shoes, it’s not hard to share the Good News!
Who do you need to share this Good News with today?
May we wear the shoes of peace. May we run to those in need. May we announce the Good News that Jesus has won.
