September 19, 2011
A Wounded Warrior
During a battle in Baghdad, Sergeant First Class Frederick Rowell earned the Silver Star for literally making himself a human shield covering a fellow soldier who was severely injured by an IED. Rowell threw himself on top of the soldier, using his own body as a shield until a rescue vehicle arrived. During that wait, Rowell took a direct hit from an AK-47 round in his back, thankfully stopped by his body armor – a round that would have almost certainly killed the already wounded private under him.
In Ephesian, using the analogy of a Roman soldier’s armor, Paul writes about the protection God has provided believers. One important piece was the shield. A Roman soldier could crouch behind his large shield and cover his entire body. Arrows might land all around him and the ones that would have made a direct hit were stopped by his shield. Paul knew Christians would face the spiritual arrows of Satan. So, he assures us that we have a shield, which is our faith.
When translated into English, his teaching on the Armor of the Spirit loses some insight. One incorrect belief is that we must put the armor on daily. However, the tense of the verbs in this passage indicate that it is something done only once. We may have to remind ourselves daily, but the armor is always there.
Another more important fact often missed is that the armor is not just an individual personal armor, it is a cooperate armor—every church has a shared armor to protect one another; the family has a shared armor; and husband and wife share an armor.
Yet, even with all the protection, Christians can still be severely injured in their spiritual battles. Through the years I’ve been too wounded to continue fighting, that’s when Donna would continue the fight for me. At other times it has been the reverse and I fought her battles. We can go through times when we are just too wounded or weak even to hold up our shield of faith. That’s when we need the cooperate armor. We have to rely on someone else to hold it for us. The soldier under Sergeant Rowell not only couldn’t fight, he couldn’t even defend himself. Rowell became his armor.
As members of a church, we need to recognize this and come to the aid of fellow believers who are wounded in the battle—even our pastors. This lesson is especially true for families—parents must fight for and protect their children. Husbands might feel as if they should be the strong ones, but we can be wounded. I wouldn’t be writing this article had it not been for the protection and warring of my wife. I couldn’t begin to count the times her faith has been a shield over me. The private that Sergeant Rowell shielded probably would not be alive today without the bravery of his fellow soldier. We call these men heroes and award them with a metal, which we should do. But protecting fellow believers should be the ‘norm’ for Christians. We shouldn’t have to hope there’s a hero when we are injured in the battle.
You may say, “I’m single and don’t really know anyone.” Note that the armor of the Spirit is not shields, helmets, swords, etc. These are merely the analogy. Our armor is Jesus. He is our righteousness, our peace, our salvation, our truth, the word, and He is our shield of faith when our faith is too weak. When we are severely injured by the devil’s IED’s, Christ will throw Himself on top of us and shield us. And nothing can penetrate His body armor. Plus, He doesn’t have to wait for a medic; He is the healer.
Are you wounded? Or do you know someone who is wounded?
Sustaining Word for the Week:
If you’re wounded let others take up the battle for you; let them hold the shield over you. If you think you’re alone, you’re not. Jesus is shielding you until He heals you. Note May 15—He will never, never, never leave you wounded even if everyone else does.