“Are we finally going to talk about some of the armor?” Danny asked his mom. “That’s the cool stuff.”
“Yes, we’re going to look at the Roman sword belt.” His mother opened a book they’d gotten at the library and showed Danny and Becky a picture. “The sword belt was the central piece of a Roman soldier’s armor. It held his tunic and breastplate in place and both his sword and knife attached to it. Pouches, bags that were like big pockets, could be attached to the belt to hold other supplies.”
“That’s a pretty important belt.” Danny tugged at his own belt. “I only wear my belt to keep my pants from falling off.”
Becky made a face at him, and their mom laughed. “Belts are always important, even today. That’s why the Roman sword belt is compared to God’s truth. It is the central piece that everything else attaches to. If God isn’t truth, then none of the other pieces matter.”
“I see.” Becky nodded. “If the Bible isn’t truth, then we lose God’s word also because it isn’t trustworthy. It’d be like a Roman soldier who lost his belt, and his sword along with it.”
“Exactly. If we throw away the absolute truth found in God, then we’ll throw away the sword of God’s word along with it. And once we do that, we’re helpless in the war against sin and Satan.” Their mom pointed at the stack of Bibles and catechism books on the kitchen counter. “That’s why we have to learn the truth—so we hold on to it.”
Questions to think about:
- Read Ephesians 6:13–14, Exodus 34:6, Deuteronomy 32:4, and Psalm 33:4 by yourself or with your parents. Why is truth so important? Where is it found?
- What happens when you throw away truth?
Fill in the blanks:
The __________ of ____________ is the _______________ piece to the ___________ of God because ____________ else attaches to it.