Marine Corps Base Quantico -- “Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to the eyes of the world. Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or weak; and at last some crisis shows what we have become,” said Brooke Foss Westcott.
The Roman legions that won and sustained the Pax Romana for over 200 years were a force in readiness. When not engaged in combat, they sustained a state of complete preparedness and fit condition for immediate action. Flavius Josephus famously said of them, “…. they have never any truce from warlike exercises … nor would he be mistaken that should call those their exercises bloodless battles, and their battles bloody exercises.” (Josephus V, 70) The conduct they expected in the heat of combat, they demonstrated on a daily basis.
Yet their exacting attention to readiness did not end with martial training. Any detail that could give them advantage was seized upon, studied, perfected and improved. A case in point was the attention and care devoted to their footwear, which enabled them to march long distances in a short time, protected their feet from traps and sharp objects intended to slow their progress and provided mobility, traction and balance in the heat of battle. Accordingly, proper footwear enhanced readiness.
The Apostle Paul, as he sought to encourage the faithful to stand steadfast in the face of adversity, appropriated this imagery, calling his listeners to keep their “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace,” (Ephesians 6:15). Just as the Roman soldier’s sturdy sandal ensured his readiness to engage and sustain mobility and steadfastness, so the gospel of peace provides a ready support and certain footing in the severest of trials. In Romans 1:16, Paul calls the gospel, “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes,” so it is literally the “good news” of reconciliation and peace with God.
So how does the “gospel of peace” provide readiness? First of all, it provides the certain assurance that peace with God brings. That assurance results in a secure hope, even in the most challenging of times. Secondly, it enables us to be reconciled and at peace with others, breaking down barriers and obstacles that once kept us at odds. Finally, this readiness comes from a consistent, disciplined exercise of the gospel of peace so that, as Paul says earlier, “you may stand your ground… and having done all else, stand.”
To stand in the day of battle is the heart’s desire of every true warrior. It is never something that occurs by happenstance or serendipity. We are the sum of all the myriad of decisions we make in regards to the issues we face every day—big and small, inconsequential and life altering. The readiness of our footing is not always evident, not always tested, and the comfortable answer, the short cut, is often easily hid. Often, “the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot” appear indistinguishable in formation. But, as Brook Westcott warns, one day, one event will lay bare our true state of readiness. May you find on that day, your feet shod with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.