Leave It On

There are many directions given in the Bible that I sometimes just fly by as I am reading. If someone mentions them in a conversation or even if a Pastor or a teacher happens to mention them in a message, I am quick to nod my head in agreement. Sometimes I will even softly quote the instructions from memory as they are being shared.

But I rarely know what follows those instructions without digging a bit. Now I have the built-in excuse that I am just getting old. I often forget what I went into a room to do or where I laid something down. But my worldly memory lapses are not nearly as important as my failure to see where God is taking me when He presents me with an action to take.

Here are a couple of those “God says do” examples. Chase them down for yourself and see where they lead.

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30).
2. Pray without ceasing (1Thessalonians 5:17).
3. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33).

Those are pretty easy to follow the trails with. They all have led those who follow the instructions to a blessing. Stop following, stop the blessing.

Here are some directions for the believer given in Chapter 6 of the book of Ephesians. We are told to “put on the full armor of God”. Then Paul goes on to describe each piece of that armor and the reason, or purpose, for it.

As a child in Sunday School class I remember how we took cardboard boxes and paper shopping bags and made each piece of the armor. In the process we learned to recite the name and purpose for each piece.

When my boys were in Sunday School, they got a whole set of plastic ready-to-wear Armor of God from the Christian Supply Store. I am sure that that shortcut stifled the development of their creativity in some way. They actually ended up spending more time sword fighting than learning to recite the purpose for each piece of the armor.

Who would have thought that giving kids a plastic sword would end up being distracting?

Our homemade armor may have looked a bit ragged and didn’t last very long but it was made by us. I think of the old school Sunday School teaching aids as minimal use items. Not something that ended up stuffed into a trash bag and donated to a thrift store a month later.

In verse 18 Paul indicates that this armor has a life-long purpose:

18 “…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”

One thing that each of these instructions have in common is that God never tells us to stop doing the assignment or even to remove the armor.

It was like when my loving parents who certainly had my best interest at heart told me as a child not to eat earth worms. That too was one of those instructions that had no completion date and came with a blessing.

As Christians we are handed the very provisions of God and also given free will to decide if we will use them or not. We can choose to rest in the fulness of His provisions or we can wrestle with our flesh.

I am reminded of the scripture in Isaiah 41 that tells us that we can soar with the eagles. Sadly, we so often choose to slither with the snakes.