What do #2 pencils, Elmer’s Glue, Crayola Crayons, and Construction Paper bring to mind? Well, besides the obvious answer of “Tools that MacGyver would use to build a car with;” most would say school supplies. With a first grader in our home, we have certainly been reacquainted with the whole “back to school” scene. You remember it don’t you? If it’s been a while for you, maybe this will help. New blue jeans that are so dark they don’t even look blue, so you make your Mom wash them a few hundred times to give them that faded look; or if you were privileged enough to grow up in the eighties, you got some new “stone-washed” jeans or if you were really stylin’ you went for the “acid” washed variety. New “school” shoes that unexplainably empowered you to run like Carl Lewis and we can’t leave out the most classic school supply of them all: a new “Trapper-Keeper” notebook. All right, fess up; I know some of you had one. Man, I wish they made an executive model; I would use one today, all those pockets and secret compartments! In reviewing my son’s school supply list, check that, after having Wendy read me the list, I couldn’t help but notice something. The compiler of the list, his teacher, was very specific on what type of supplies he would need. I figured any old kind of crayons would be fine, let’s just buy the cheapest ones, after all, what difference does it make? According to the list, all the difference in the world. Evidently, Crayola Crayons have certain colors that they will need for certain projects throughout the school year. I know what you’re thinking, “Sienna isn’t even a real color.” I agree, the list didn’t.
You and I do the same thing when we are given a list of supplies we will need for our spiritual lives. In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul gives us a list of supplies that we will need to succeed in the Christian life. Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.” You notice he didn’t say “if” the day of evil comes, he said “when.” Just like Tanner’s teacher, Paul knows what’s needed. Here is where we get into trouble in our Christian walk; we tend to put question marks where God has put a period. Just like me questioning the need for Crayola Crayons, we read Paul’s list and say, “Yeah, I know he said put on the ‘full armor,” of God, but c’mon; I’m OK with the ‘helmet of salvation’ part, but the ‘sword of the Spirit?’ I’m a lover, not a fighter.” God is in the equipping business. He does not send us with a knife to a gun fight. He tells us in advance the supplies we will need to get an “A” in his class. How does he know this? He wrote the curriculum.