Armor is for Amour

Sunday August 26^th, Ephesians 6:  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.  It is way too easy for us to fall into the trap of assuming that our struggle is with others.  We make our list of enemies, we draw lines, we decide who is in and who is out, and then we sit back and feel good about our idea that we are right and that other group is wrong.  What we find when that happens is that we have just fallen into the trap we were supposed to remain strong against.  Once we start drawing lines, we find ourselves on one side with “the powers of this dark world” and Jesus on the other side with those we have excluded.  That doesn’t mean we can’t argue ideas, policies and procedures, but the people are still made in the image of God. Time to suit up, be strong, and love one another.  The Armor is for Amour.