You’ll surely hear this narrative read during Holy Week:
John 18:35-38
“Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me.
What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
“What is truth?” retorted Pilate.
What is truth?
A while back, I gave a lesson to a homeschool group on the Armor of God as outlined in Ephesians 6:10-17.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
At the time, I wanted the children to realize just how important TRUTH is to God and our relationship with Him. I told them that just as we choose which shirt to wear each day, we choose to clothe ourselves in righteousness...or not. It’s a choice that must be actively made.
Just as we fasten our belt around our waist to hold up our pants, we hold up our reputation by the belt of truth. Once Truth is gone, so we are exposed; it’s that simple.
We choose sturdy shoes to walk over the harsh terrain of this world, so readiness to spread peace helps us walk that rough road successfully when we are provoked.
Faith shields us from such sharp arrows as scorn, contempt, and arrogance. These are assaults that we Christians can encounter daily.
We keep in mind that to have faith, we must first KNOW faith and defend ourselves with the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. It follows then that we must first study the scripture and KNOW the word of God; our weapons are provided for us there.
As our warm hat keeps our heads protected from the cold, salvation covers us and insulates us always as we go forth in the world, encountering those who don’t believe, don’t love, and don’t care.
Our children are growing up in a very different world from the one that we, their parents, knew. It is becoming a colder, more isolated world with very little enthusiasm for truth. Our children must understand that it’s not only okay to be the only one; it’s imperative to their salvation that they BE that one.
In actuality, it only seems that they are alone. The TRUTH is, they have an army of ByziKid friends, and we at ByziKids Magazine hope to support them by our work and encourage them to clothe themselves in the armor of God daily.
It's a tough world out there! Talk to your children about the armor of God. There are some great resources in our April 2021 issue to help cement these ideas in their minds and give them some protection.