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.