Knit Armor

I never know what to expect when Greta gets up in the morning. Last week, she came to where I was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. She had her broomstick horse and a square pillow from her bed. She was using the pillow as a shield and the horse as a sword. Her words were simply, "I'm ready to fight."

The 'I just got out of bed and I might still be grumpy' look on her face told me that she was indeed ready to fight. I was fighting too and I lost. I totally gave in to laughter.

Today, that precious four year old girl was again wearing armor and playing some kind of game with her brothers. Only this time, her sword was a long pink feather and she had a square pillow featuring the cartoon character, the Tasmanian Devil, as her shield. This time she kicked it up a notch, she was wearing a knit hat for her helmet. Of course, having seen pictures in the Encyclopedia, Greta knew that the helmet covers the whole head. So she had the knit hat pulled all the way down over her eyes and was trying to chase her brothers without bumping into any walls.

Again I lost the battle and gave in to peals of laughter. Then it made me think. Greta didn't have a real helmet, so she made one up. But because it wasn't a real helmet, designed to protect while still allowing you to see and function, her makeshift helmet was actually keeping her from fully enjoying her play.

It made me wonder if we don't do the same thing. God says plainly in His book that there is a helmet of salvation. The Bible makes it very clear that salvation comes only through faith in Christ. It is nothing we do of our own. Yet many times, we refuse the helmet of salvation generously given to us, at the cost of the life of the Son of God, and choose to put on our own makeshift helmet of righteousness by works.

Like Greta, we eventually discover that it's not the real thing and not designed to protect us the way it should. Like Greta, we bump into walls and get hurt because of our makeshift helmet.

The armor of God is available to all. Have you put on the true helmet of salvation lately?