Danny waved the stick in front of him. He was a warrior and fought huge armies of enemies. Stab. Slash. Whack.
“Danny!” His mother called from the door. “Time to come in and practice your catechism.”
Danny heaved a huge sigh and trudged to the house, dragging his stick behind him. “Do I have to? I was having fun. I was a knight and I was fighting and winning and stuff.”
His mother sat down on the front step. “You don’t have to pretend to be a warrior. You are already a part of God’s army.”
Danny wrinkled his nose and plopped onto the grass. “Really?”
“All Christians are a part of God’s army. We fight sin, Satan, and the world.” His mother pointed at his stick. “Just like a warrior has to practice with his sword to get good at it, we have to practice and train to get good and fighting with our spiritual weapons. That’s why you need to learn your catechism and memorize Bible verses. You are training to be God’s warrior.”
“But it’s boring.” Danny frowned. Learning his catechism wasn’t as fun as swinging his stick around.
“Training isn’t always fun, not even for warriors. They’d have to march in rows for several hours, all hot and dusty and without stopping. Then they’d practice with their swords until their arms ached.” His mother stood and handed him his catechism book.
Danny got to his feet, rested his stick on his shoulder, and opened his catechism book. Then, marching back and forth across the yard, he practiced being God’s warrior.
Questions to think about:
- Read Ephesians 6:10–17 by yourself or with your parents. What does it mean to be God’s warrior? Whom are we fighting?
- What things are you doing that help you train to be God’s warrior?