Ephesians 6: 14-15
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
The Roman Soldier's footwear was a special sandal know as a Caliga (Caligae-plural). Caligae were made of leather that had slits and openings carved in them to allow for ventilation. Hobnails (A short nail with a thick head used to protect the soles of shoes or boots.) were hammered into the soles of the sandal with the head left exposed to form a tread like pattern. This was done for three main reasons: It reinforced the sandal, it provided the soldier with better traction, and it allowed the soldier to inflict more damage with a well placed kick.
The Caliga was laced up the center of the foot and also around the ankle area, not unlike modern shoes. The Caliga was a durable, versatile shoe. The pattern of the hobnails hammered into the sole were especially arranged as to help better distribute the weight of the wearer and to handle the grueling marching regiment of the Roman Army.
The importance of the Caliga to the Romans should not be underestimated. The Roman legions won as many battles with manuevering and positioning, fast marching, as they did with battle. Romans new this and also new that in order to march you had to be properly outfitted.
While it is clear that the Roman Army put a lot of thought into the foot wear of their soldiers, it should be equally clear that God has put a lot of thought into the footwear of his own army. Paul says, in Ephesians 6:15 to clothe yourself "with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."
I can remember my younger brother playing T-ball when we were little. I loved to play baseball, basketball, anything with a ball and a few rules held my attention. My brother was not like me in this department. Jerry was on the field because mom and dad wanted him to give it a try. Most times he was sitting or knealing with his finger tracing stick figures in the sand.
When a ball was hit my brother's way he would have to get up off the ground, put his glove back on, chase down the ball that by then had rolled past, then try to make a play. Where T-ball was concerned, my brother did not have feet ready.
God doesn't keep many secrets from us. God lays out what he expects from us and what we can expect from him. He even tells us what tactics we can expect from the enemy inside his neatly packaged training manual, the Bible. If we choose not to read, not to prepare ourselves by communicating with God then when the enemy attacks we will be like my brother was, stumbling over our feet in surprise at what has come rolling our way.
The Bible does not always promise us that life will be easy. It certainly does not say that becoming a Christian will solve all your problems or keep you from developing new ones. Being a Christian does mean one thing though, you will never have to fight a battle alone again. To me that is the gospel of peace, I have the Creator of the Universe on my side.
Romans 8:31
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Works Cited:
http://rigorevali.co.uk/prod02[Caligae].htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligae
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