If any passage leads us to seeing 2 levels of reality this is it. Through our eyes, a Christian going into the battle for looks to be stark naked. Through the eyes of faith, we see that they are fully armed as militant pacifists, as non-violent aggressors, to fight the good fight. The battle gear is for someone on offense and defense. the shield is a large one, used for attacking a fortification.the sword was used in close quarters in close combat.  The trouble is that our spiritual sight is weak, and we feel as if we are not well-equipped to fight the good fight. It is hard enough to fight something we can see, but when we are fighting instincts and ideas, it is difficult to see if we are making any progress at all. We fight an unseen battle within ourselves all the time. Every day, we go out and do battle with forces determined to obstruct the way of god, the kingdom of God.

 

This morning I would like to emphasize, first, the belt of truth. Obviously truth fights falsehood. It is more than a physical issue. In a media-drenched world, we receive more misinformation and trivia than material to consider and pray over. Marilyn told me on Thursday that we had a media flap that the First Lady was wearing shorts. A deluge of information makes a vacuum for words of truth, as it pushes it out. It is the christian hope that the truth can defeat the lies and misrepresentations of the enemy. the truth that we are made in the image and likeness of god can fight against all those words that tells us that we don't deserve respect and success, and love. In a violence-saturated world, we certainly need to wear the gospel shoes of peace. We help the way of God in the world when we seek peace and teach ways of arriving at it. When someone angers us, we want to give them a swift kick. In the world of peace-making, we give a swift kick to the destructive side of conflict by having the words and methods of peace in our walk.

 

Of course, no list is comprehensive. In our other reading, Solomon demonstrates his wisdom with a long prayer.Perhaps nothing can demonstrate wisdom in a leader more than the sense that they do not have all the answers, cannot go it alone, and need to be opening to the prodding of god. I notice that much of it is on national forgiveness. Secure in the promise of God, he does not fear to admit that nations can go wrong, that we require corporate as well as personal forgiveness.Solomon knows full well that he needs chariots and defenses, but he also knows that nations fight invisible forces of ruling ideas and ways of thinking that can prove to be even more deleterious to the health of the nation.

 

Solomon is concerned that God could be connected to the new temple. In other words, will God hear the prayers in the new temple? Will God be connected to us? When we pray, it sometimes seems as if we are talking to the wall. Solomon not only assumes that God hears, but he begs God to keep a close eye and ear on the prayers that emanate form the temple. We Christians see God as dwelling in Christ. In other words, Jesus Christ was a living breathing temple. In that way, Solomon's prayer is answered, God's own can indeed dwell on the earth. Jesus knows full well the physical  battles and the temptations and ideas against which we struggle. Later,  Paul will speak of us as temples of the Holy Spirit.Think of it. We carry the presence of god with us as we carry the fight against evil right in the domain of the enemy, even as we carry that enemy with us as well.