Body armor

Put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:11).

When I was a kid, going to the museum was pretty boring. But there was one display that did fascinate me—they had a metal suit of armor from the European Middle Ages.

The history of body armor goes back to ancient times. When war broke out, soldiers needed protection from being stabbed. The earliest armor was made from leather. Of course, man is always inventing new and better weapons to kill with, so armor had to be improved as well. At first, bits of metal were attached to the leather to help deflect attack. Later on, whole coats were made from links of chain. Eventually blacksmiths started making full suits of armor that covered a warrior from head to foot in solid metal.

But turning a soldier into a walking turtle made him slow. With the advent of reliable firearms, speed and mobility changed the battlefield. Heavy armor keeps its wearer from diving for cover when bullets start to fly, and makes it impossible to chase down a fleeing sniper. Modern body armor must balance weight and flexibility against overall protection. A soldier must always be aware of his surroundings and move with caution; his armor might save him from the first salvo of an ambush, but it cannot protect him from sustained enemy fire.

Each of us lives with a sniper taking aim at us from the shadows. That sniper is the devil. He uses a wide assortment of ammunition. He often tries to bring us down with bullets of guilt. Sometimes he launches grenades of half-truths and lies to disorient us. He plants roadside bombs of pride and fear, so we lose precious time arguing with each other about the best way to proceed. He strafes us with prejudice and mistrust, so we scatter in all directions as we dive for cover. Satan has the tactical advantage—the world is his battlefield. We try to armor ourselves with education, self-discipline, and psychological counseling—sadly, these limited defenses cannot protect us for long, and the devil has no trouble outflanking us.

But we can survive the journey through life if we have the superior body armor that is issued by God’s Son. Jesus deflects the attacks aimed at you by using the truth of His words, the hope of His promises, and the power of His unshakable love. When you wear the body armor of Christ, the devil cannot bring you down.