After I saw that first analogy, I was blown away by how simply profound it is. We are children of the light, so how can a thief sneak up on us? We will totally see him coming. Like a busy, crowded city with many sketchy-looking people, the signs of a pickpocket are obvious.
So I kept reading on, and then I stumbled across verse 8: "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation."
Immediately, my mind jumped to the armor of God, which are named in Ephesians 6:13-18. But in Ephesians 6:14, it talks about the breastplate of righteousness, not the breastplate of faith and love. But what if Paul was making a comparison between them? What if he was letting us in on the two keys to having righteousness? When you think about it, faith and love are two completely essential parts of our Christian walk. It takes faith to just believe in God, let alone have a relationship with Him, and love is the foundation of His law. Two sentences sum up the entire list of laws and rules in the Old Testament: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.
Today, I especially need faith and love. Love to treat everyone equally, to look past any faults or failures, and faith to believe that God will help me do it. Love so that I will not become frustrated, and faith to help me see as God sees.
That's my prayer. Won't you make it yours too?
Prayer brings Jesus to our side, and gives new strength and fresh grace to the fainting, perplexed soul to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil.
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