"...and having shod the feet with readiness of the Good Message of peace..."
-We are told elsewhere that feet which bring good news and announce peace - shalom - are in fact quite lovely (Is 52.7, Rom 10.15). Have you ever stopped, tho, to actually consider the importance of the foot? Particularly in battle?
-Feet surely need footwear, all the moreso if you’re heading into battle. And the role of foot soldiers - infantry - in warfare cannot be underestimated, even in modern times. Foot soldiers have always been the primary means for holding and claiming ground. To that end, a British officer and military historian once wrote, ‘Marching is the foundation of all operation in war. An army below the standard in marching power is at the mercy of a more mobile force. Actual battle consumes but a fraction of the time spent in marching. The most brilliant plans fail if the troops do not march the distances calculated upon. Mobility is the first requisite of the soldier.’ Elsewhere, from the US Army Medical Corps Handbook: “During ordinary troop movements using a standard march of 15 miles, each foot will strike the ground some 18,000 times during the day. It is said that falling drops of water will ultimately wear away the hardest stone; and it will be apparent that even a relatively slight defect in the relation between the foot and shoe, if enabled to act with each step through such a vast number of repetitions in such a relatively brief period, can scarcely fail to do injury to the delicate and tender foot structures in contact with it. If the defect be considerable, it is apparent that more or less complete incapacity for marching will scarcely be avoided.” 18,000 foot strikes a day for soldiers in battle! It should come as no surprise then that foot injuries - preventing them, down to even the tiniest blister - are a top priority for any military force, thus the critical need for good footwear. Who among us has not had to endure the debilitating effects of a foot blister which resulted from a ill-fitting (or improperly laced) pair of shoes?
-Soldiers are instructed during basic training, your weapon and your boots - take special care of these, they are of utmost importance to an effective soldier.
-Shoe fit and comfort, length and width and instep, breaking in the shoe, foot care, cleaning, toenails - for foot soldiers all of these must be given the strictest attention. “It is quite conceivable that about any article other than shoes could be ill fitting and still be worn by the soldier without particular discomfort or detriment to his military efficiency. An ill fitting pair of trousers or shirt would have no particular influence on the performance of field duty, though appearances might suffer somewhat. But in respect to shoes, he must have exactly the length and width of shoes his feet require, or pay an undeserved penalty which is exacted not only from the man himself but falls in large part upon the Government which employs him... So long as infantry is the backbone of an army and mobility is the most important element in strategy, frequent careful inquiry into the condition of the feet, and constant interested oversight looking to their continued welfare, are properly to be required of all officers concerned... Probably no one thing will more conduce to greater marching radius, the success of tactics, and the delivery on the firing line of the maximum number of rifles, than will proper foot care of the command. Conversely, neglect in this respect produces a vast amount of military inefficiency.”
-”It cannot be too strongly emphasized that any deficiencies of shoe supply, or any errors as to fitting, may tend to produce discomfort, dissatisfaction and foot injuries which might erroneously be attributed to the form of the shoe itself. Ideally perfect footwear cannot alone give good results. In other words, the shoe cannot be considered by itself alone, since its actual utility to the wearer depends upon the tripod of supply, fit and construction. If any leg of this tripod fails, the whole structure of foot comfort falls to the ground.” In other words, an army must not only have a well-constructed shoe, it must also have sufficient supply in sizes that fit.
-But how much more important then, for us to give attention to our metaphysical footwear, our spiritual shoes, the boots in which we march to war against the enemy of our souls. As it turns out, that which carries us into battle is the Gospel, the Good News of peace...! And as it relates to that tripod (of construction, fit, and supply) in a spiritual sense, our Supreme Commander has all the bases covered. The Gospel is just what our spiritual feet need, incomparable construction, always a perfect fit, and has no shortage of supply! Each and every believer is furnished with the Gospel at salvation, and it always fits perfectly! But we must be careful to remember to draw on these boots every day. Gospel-preparation, that which enables us to march into battle, means I keep the truth of the Good News in the forefront of my mind. The truth that God loves me and sent His Son to die for me to pay the penalty for my sins and procure for me forgiveness and eternal life which I then receive through faith alone - this must be my constant companion, my daily meditation, my mantra throughout the day, from reveille until taps, from the moment I fall out of bed for first call, PT and breakfast all the way through evening personal time and lights out. Almighty God loves me! I am forgiven, accepted. In His eyes i’ve done everything right, thru Jesus! I am His child - He is for me! He is always with me! I (should and must) preach this oh-so-better-than-Good Message to myself, every day. The Gospel must carry me everywhere I go, everything I do,
-And a word to leaders: “At every post, if a cavalry horse is improperly shod in the production of a bad gait, interference, over-reaching or other fault, the troop commander does not hesitate to give his personal attention to re-shoeing repeated as often as may be necessary until the fault has been remedied. Surely the
marching capacity of a foot soldier is of quite as much military importance as that of a horse, and the responsibility that it shall be kept at the highest efficiency develops in no less degree upon organization commanders in both instances. Neglect by officers to give proper personal supervision to matters of shoe fitting and supply is equally detrimental to the military efficiency of man and beast.” It is most certainly incumbent upon those leaders within the assembly of Christ-followers that they similarly make sure that the people of their flock are well-versed in how to shoe themselves with the truths of the Good News every day.
-And in the midst of all this talk of battle, which of course is quite real, the great reality of course is that the Gospel, this Good News, is the Message of peace. Peace on earth, good will among men. It is peace with God, that which is our deepest soul need and longing - to be able to rest in peace with our Maker. Shalom, overall well-being. It’s all good, in other words. Because if this is true, does it not far outweigh all else that concerns us? Can it, should it not with Christ as our head lead us thru life in triumph? Death is defeated! We are forgiven! Children of the King! Peace! Indescribable, incomprehensible peace - this is our reality, the truth which is found only in Jesus, the core of the Good News, that which enables us to daily march headlong into the brokenness of life and face first against the flaming arrows of our fiercely-determined enemy with our heads held high and a song on our lips. Get your boots on, people!
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