Armor of God: Part I

I had the honor of spending the Summer of 2007 in Iraq and Afghanistan entertaining Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and my fellow Airmen. While there, I decided to do a little experiment. I have always been interested in the Armor of God (Eph 6:10-17). I understand that this armor is a metaphor, but I wanted a deeper understanding of the root of that metaphor. So I took all of my modern day armor and labeled it according to the Armor of God - individual body armor = breast plate of righteousness, kevlar helmet = helmet of salvation, etc. I learned a few things, some relevant to scripture and some not.

The Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) of Righteousness (Eph 6:14)

This 16.4 lb vest is similar in weight and purpose to the roman breast plate that Paul referred to in Ephesians. Here are the observations that I jotted down in my journal:

IBA is heavy, a burden, and uncomfortable.

It is protective (I feel safer inside it).

The weight, though oppressive in 120 degree heat, is balanced.

It protects my vital organs.

There is a video taken from the view of an enemy sniper shooting a soldier wearing this armor. The man falls to the ground, immediately jumps up, readies his weapon, takes cover, and begins to fight.

When I get around to it, I will write about how some of these observations apply to the Armor of God. Right now I'm just too darn lazy to write all this stuff in one sitting.

Greetings

Soon you will be enraptured by the tiniest thoughts that bounce around my scull throughout the day. Not yet though, because there have been none as of late.