A recent news story told...
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A recent news story told of the death of a youngster who had spent his life confined in a room-sized plastic bubble because of his precarious immune system, which could not tolerate the germ-laden air that the rest of us breathe with impunity.
In the plastic bubble, the boy had been protected from unclean air, but the price he paid was extremely high: living in complete isolation from the everyday adventures of life which other boys enjoyed; never having the freedom of movement which is so dear to a growing youngster; and never feeling the softness of his mother's arms, since they had to be covered by a layer of plastic. Finally, even the bubble was not enough to sustain the boy; or perhaps the small body and restless soul eventually tired of their confinement and escaped to a greater freedom.
It is impossible to completely shelter ourselves from the enemies of either our bodies or our souls. Our imperfect bodies live in an imperfect world, and our souls are continually besieged by the powers of darkness. But in Ephesians 6, Paul has shown us some means of protection that, regardless of the fate of our bodies, will enable our souls to emerge from the world victorious.
"Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith ... the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times." (vv. 14-18a)
In the plastic bubble, the boy had been protected from unclean air, but the price he paid was extremely high: living in complete isolation from the everyday adventures of life which other boys enjoyed; never having the freedom of movement which is so dear to a growing youngster; and never feeling the softness of his mother's arms, since they had to be covered by a layer of plastic. Finally, even the bubble was not enough to sustain the boy; or perhaps the small body and restless soul eventually tired of their confinement and escaped to a greater freedom.
It is impossible to completely shelter ourselves from the enemies of either our bodies or our souls. Our imperfect bodies live in an imperfect world, and our souls are continually besieged by the powers of darkness. But in Ephesians 6, Paul has shown us some means of protection that, regardless of the fate of our bodies, will enable our souls to emerge from the world victorious.
"Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith ... the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times." (vv. 14-18a)
