“…you must wear the whole armour of God that you may be able to resist evil in its day of power, and that even when you have fought to a standstill you may still stand your ground. Take your stand then with truth as your belt, righteousness your breastplate, the Gospel of peace firmly on your feet, salvation as your helmet and in your hand the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.”
(Ephesians 6: 13-18, JB Phillips New Testament)
The material world and its suggestions of gloom and doom, sin and sickness, danger on every side, requires an alertness and readiness. We can’t simply roll over and let the tyrant take our good lives away! But we can’t take a stand that is thoroughly victorious without thoroughly preparing in the way that is most powerful–spiritually.
We need to build up a strong defense as well as a confident offense. How do we do that? What is this armor and weaponry that Paul tells us about here? Are we fighting material sense with its own weapons, or are we equipping ourselves from the armory of Spirit, that which is indestructible and omnipotent? Our preparation to battle down the false beliefs presented to us, whatever their form, and to live in our own land in peace, comes from God.
I think that Paul’s description of what is needed mirrors Mary Baker Eddy’s description of God’s attributes, the seven synonyms, in her textbook Science and Health. We have Truth, which girds us. We have Principle which upholds and protects our hearts and our lives. We have divine intelligence, the perfect and saving Mind as our helmet, our protected and clear thinking. We have that Gospel of peace which is certainly a Life that is Love. We have that full armor, that wholeness that is oneness with Soul and its integrity, its completeness. And we have that Spirit, that animating ideal that cuts through material lies and limits with unflinching certainty and power.
And so in God’s armor, equipped with His intention, we can win the day and share the rich bounty of peace and joy and love with the whole world.
Laura Moliter, CS
