GUNS, GOD AND GUTS
Our pastor recently preached on the “Armor of God” text, Ephesians 6:13-17. We spoke about how the right wing conservative Christian groups often use the text to justify violence, yet how the thrust of the text is a call to nonviolence with Paul using familiar military terms as metaphors to encourage faith-filled courage in spreading the faith. Although we can debate whether Paul actually wrote Ephesians, the message provides potent encouragement to further the Gospel message for the world, and for Christians passionate about gun violence prevention (GVP) to carry on our work.

Imagine GVP folks having the passion to advance the cause, knowing that we have the armor of God to protect and strengthen our resolve! We are given armor to withstand the darts of withering criticism! We are given the truth of Christ and truth of facts to undergird our presentations and provide a foundation in reality! We are given the breastplate of justice for all, love for all, and not just for those who carry guns! We are given shoes to plod through the swamp of misinformation and obfuscation! We are given the shield of faith to trust the goodness of God’s value of life’s preciousness in spite of angry defensiveness and trust in the power of inappropriate gun use! We are given the helmet of salvation to give us hope that our resolve is a promise that moves us forward without fear! We are given the sword of the Spirit which gives us instruments of love, joy and unity against all odds!

The gun lobby groups are known for their passion. Imagine we in the GVP community as being graced with the passionate armor of God to advance the mission of gun safety?! We are! We have!

Unstoppable!

Peace!

Rev. Ron Letnes