This past Thursday was National Day of Prayer, and I participated in the service held in Chappell Hill at Providence Church, a historic Baptist church built in 1873. That day the simple house of worship situated in the center of Main Street became the epicenter of a violent lightning storm.
The theme, perfectly suited for the severe weather we were experiencing, was “Lift up the Word; Light up the World.” God poured His tears in buckets, and His thunder clapped the loudest at just the right moments.
We sang the hymn, “Thy Word,” with its melodious lyrics, “Nothing will I fear as long as you are near. Please be near me to the end. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” The most providential moment occurred when our guest speaker, Pastor Beckworth, elaborating upon the hymn chanced to ask, “Do we still need the lamp? At the very utterance of the word, “lamp” lightning knocked out the power of the building and the room went completely dark. Then, as we all gasped. Pastor Beckworth said, “Of course, we do!” At that instant, the light returned, and we laughed in delight at the power and humor of our God.
For believers, it is easy to connect these dots to our Creator. As people of faith, we believe God exists. We believe he created the universe and us. We believe he chose the Hebrews as his chosen people and gave them a moral and religious code of laws. We know from our Old Testament history that they tried yet failed to uphold the law and many times turned away from God and then returned to God.
As Christians, we believe God will mete out perfect justice and mercy for sin. We believe in the man Jesus who is fully human and the fully divine son of God. We believe Jesus was born as a man to give us a second chance to be in right relationship with God, our Father. We know from our New Testament that Jesus was betrayed and wrongly condemned to die and sent to the cross. We believe he willingly accepted this death, this sacrifice for us. We believe if we accept Jesus’s sacrifice and believe he rose from the dead, we will join Jesus in Heaven. These are doctrines, objective beliefs that are the foundation of our faith.
For atheists and agnostics, people of other religions, it is not easy or possible for them to connect these dots. They do not believe, and they lack any faith in the Christian religion. There is no compatibility here. There can’t be two, three or a hundred truths. Either they’re wrong or we’re wrong. I don’t believe we’re wrong.
Yet, there may be seeds of faith that we can plant.
These seeds may be as simple as saying, “May God shine his blessings upon you,” to the grocery checker. Or, writing a thank you note to someone who is not expecting a thank you. Or, by noticing someone who needs a hand and just showing up to help. As Christians, our faith should be a lamp that burns so brightly inside of us that non-believers wake up and notice. If they don’t, then find the power button on your lamp! Allow the Holy Spirit more room to live within you. Plant those seeds of generosity, kindness, truth-telling, servant-leadership, and encouragement.
Our faith is not only our beliefs fueling the lamp of the Godly light within, but it is also our shield against the power and cunning of the devil. The word shield is an interesting word. It comes from the Middle English word sheld meaning “defender, protector.” In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul admonishes us to wear the “full armor of God” but “above all” hold the shield of faith,
(New King James version)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [a]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [b]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
All parts of the armor are important, but the shield is above all the means of protection from the fiery darts of Satan and his minions. In Paul’s day, a scutum was a large shield made of reinforced wood approximately 2’ x 4’. In certain moments of battle, soldiers advanced in a defensive formation called a testudo, or turtle shell, interlocking their shields in the front and from above to protect themselves from “fiery” darts of the enemy. This image of Satan sending his lies and deceits as fiery darts requires us to hold up our beliefs, which are the building blocks of our faith.
Ephesians is not the only ancient text to use the shield in a metaphorical sense.
Homer, the author of The Iliad, devotes an entire book (chapter) describing the shield of Achilles. The scenes are elaborate depicting the solar system, the earth, and scenes from within two cities: one at peace and another at war. The shield is constructed by Hephaestus, the God of the Forge, and the entire shield is a metaphor for the human condition, living in a many-gods-created world, yet doomed to suffer.
Hephaestus hammers in bronze, silver and gold images depicting the innocence of youth, the beauty of marriage, peaceful shepherds and their flocks, contrasting these with the violence of war, the viciousness of wild animals, and the corruption of courts. The message of Homer is that human life is both beautiful and tragic. There is no escape from wickedness, war, and violence. If one asks how all of this could be put on one shield, one can only reply that it was a massive piece of armor.
Achilles receives this armor from the Gods, so that he can avenge the death of his best friend, Patroklos whom Hektor has killed. Yet he knows, he will sacrifice his own doomed life. He tells his mother, “I must reject this life, my heart tells me, reject the world of men, if Hektor does not feel my battering spear tear the life out of him, making him pay in his blood for the slaughter of Patroklos.
‘Letting a tear fall, Thetis (his mother) said, ‘“You’ll be swift to meet your end, child, as you say: your doom comes close on the heels of Hektor’s own.”’
The comparison of these two systems of beliefs is revealing. The Christian faith offers hope. It gives life an ultimate purpose and meaning. The alternative is a life where man suffers or is blessed purely by chance or by whim of “the gods.” There is no ultimate justice, although there is a certain human nobility in facing fearful situations with courage.
For your non-believing non-Christian friends and family, maybe this comparison is another seed you can plant.
The Christian faith is our shield and lamp. It protects us while lighting the path. Like a door it keeps out the bad guys and the bad ideas, so the demons can’t get through. Don’t let your door weaken or open it to the wrong influences. Otherwise, you may become part of that dark side of Achilles’s shield. Did I just hear a thunderous clap?