Ephesians 6: 10, & 11 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Vicar Nick preached on Ephesians 6:10-20.  In part he made the points that Christ has already wrapped himself around us and thus we are equipped with the full armor.  He also noted that among 18-30 years old the church is perceived as being against everything, but not seen as being for anything.  That’s a good point.

Could it be that one of the schemes of the devil is to convince us that dressed in the full armor of God, we should use the sword of the Spirit, the word, to condemn the world and thus divide ourselves off from the world.  Thus we use up our energy not walking in the in the good news of peace through Christ, who has torn down the dividing walls of hostility, but using the word to slay those from whom we feel divided.  We are called to walk not as warriors against people of different races, sexual orientation, religions, political parties, denominations and those within the church with whom we do not agree; but to do the much more difficult task of thinking about how we might speak the truth of the Gospel in love, with integrity and tactfulness that we are part of fulfilling God’s plan for the unification of the whole universe in Christ

As Paul reminds us in verse 12 that we do not wrestle against other people here on earth, but against the cosmic powers and spiritual forces of evil.  Christ has given us a strong ally in the Holy Spirit, who is available to us at all times and places through prayer for guidance and discernment.