Lesson 13: Shoes of the Readiness for the Gospel of Peace, part 2

Ephesians 6:15 - …and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

We all take shoes for granted, but they are a very important part of our apparel. What I plan to do on a given day determines the type of shoes I put on. Think about how important shoes are to certain professions. Construction workers would be crazy to try and do their job without proper footwear. Could you imagine a football player walking onto the field without his cleats? Could you see a baseball player doing that? What about a tennis player? No, it does not happen because athletes understand just how important the right shoes are to do what they do.

Just as important as shoes are to an athlete, a construction worker, a business man, a housewife, or even a toddler, they are even more important to a soldier, especially in war. In order to protect themselves, the Roman soldiers would wear a boot that had a heavy sole so that it could not be pierced, because if their feet were pierced they could not walk, and that could debilitate the entire soldier. He could be the best soldier, but if his feet are hurt, he is finished. You can hurt your arm, your hands, your elbows, your shoulders, and still keep moving and function, but you hurt your feet, and you are done. You may be the strongest man alive, you may have the greatest sword there is, but if you cannot stand, you are in real trouble.


This is what Paul sees. He sees this Roman soldier standing there, and his feet are firm, and he is able to hold his ground, and make quick moves, and stay on his feet. He does not slip, and he does not slide, and he does not fall. Now he says to the Christian, you get out there and have your waist all cinched up — you are committed. And you can have your breastplate on, and live a godly righteous life as the Lord desires, but unless you can stand on your feet, you are going to fall over. There is urgency here. Your spiritual life depends on this. Get prepared, get fitted, do not delay, get the shoes of peace on now, Christian soldier, because without them you are going to fail in the battle!

I am the only one who can do this for myself. I do it because God says to, and I see the utter importance of these shoes just like the rest of my armor - and I know without all the armor, including these shoes -I am defeated in the day of battle! And notice it was not just any shoes. It was "the shoes of the gospel of peace." Then the question is, "What is the Gospel of Peace and how do I put that on my feet?" We have two options. We will continue this in our next lesson.