Insights

As Paul exhorts the Ephesians to put on the full armor of God, there’s one piece that always sticks out to me as not fitting with the others. When I think of armor, I think of knights and round tables–cue visions of Richard Harris, Richard Gere, and Monty Python. I can easily envision the helmet and the breastplate, the shoes and the shield. And of course, what knight is going into battle without a good sword? But the belt has always thrown me for a loop. Who needs a belt to hold up metal pants?!
 
Therefore, I wasn’t surprised to find out that the words we translate as “fasten on the belt” can also be translated as “gird your loins.” I’d wager that’s archaic imagery, with most of us assuming “gird” is a misspelling of grid (as I’m typing, the grammar check in Google Docs is very concerned I’m using the wrong word repeatedly) and “loins” referring to pork or beef tenderloins. But the words Paul chose matters; this phrase exists throughout the Old Testament whenever something particularly serious is about to go down. In Jeremiah 1, God tells Jeremiah to gird his loins and go speak to the Israelites…spoiler alert, there’s a reason Jeremiah is called the Weeping Prophet. In Job 38, God tells Job to gird up his loins like a man and face Him. 
 
What Jeremiah, the author of Job, and Paul mean is this: get yourself ready for what’s coming. Jeremiah and Job meant it in the literal sense, as girding actually means securing one’s robe/tunic/outer covering in such a way that you don’t trip over it in battle. To use a modern day example, you can imagine an MLB player securing batting accessories before a particularly important at-bat. But Paul takes it one step further: we are to prepare ourselves by making sure we are secured with the truth of God’s word and His love for us.
 
There are many tools we can use for this. I use a daily prayer app, many people use a 365-day Bible reading plan, there are podcasts galore…pick something that works for you and your family and get training. A great resource we’ve used in the office to help with this is the book Hidden Within by Jason Lancaster. It’s a 40-day scripture memory guide, providing us with the tools needed to make sure we’re always ready to fasten that belt and bring truth to a world that so desperately needs it.
 

Dr. Jason Henderson
Secondary Education Principal
Logos Preparatory Academy