Friday, November 16, 2012

Partial Protection Leads to Total Destruction


Davin is a Special Inspector for Archaeology Today; a company that studies the ruins of fallen civilizations and tries to determine the cause of their demise. For weeks, he and his partner looked for clues. But, so far, they hadn't found any consequential evidence as to why this once great, proud, and powerful, nation self-destructed sometime in the twenty-second century.
However, not finding clues didn't deter either of them, and they continued to search using all the archeology tools at their disposal. No frivolous conversations interrupted their intensity.    

While on break one day, Davin said to his partner. “Steve, before we started this project I studied the history of this nation, and it’s one of honor and glory. In the eighteenth century, they were thirteen English colonies that declared their independence from their mother-country. They sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, settled along the coastline and won a hard-fought war to free themselves from the oppression of their mother-country.

After the war they became the United States of America, and, in the beginning, governed themselves along the frameworks of Christianity. Over the next 250 years, or so, they grew into a country of 50 states and became a world leader. It’s a shame.”
A short time after their break Steve said, “I think I scored, Davin, come help me clean it up.”

“What’d you find, Steve? Hope it’s interesting; we need excitement around here.”
“Well, my shovel stuck something, and it looks like a skeleton. It didn’t holler when the shovel hit it, so, I assume it’s dead.”

 “Hope so, don’t need some bony twenty-first century creature running rampant around here stirring up the spirit world. Probably get us a disturbing the peace ticket.”
A few painstaking hours later, they made enough progress to see some of the skeleton. But, instead of answering questions, what they saw led to more questions. “It seems to have a piece of body armor on it,” Steve said. “It’s wearing a breastplate; plus it has a shield in one hand and a sword in the other.”

“I know, but in the twenty-first century who’d be wearing body armor, and why?” Davin said. “We’re on what was their east coast and not the west one. The west coast is where their major movie studios were. So, it's probably not from a movie set.”
“Another strange thing,” said Steve. “I see no pieces of material from clothes lying around. From this angle, I can see underneath the shield and don't see any traces of clothing. You'd think, with the shield covering and protecting its clothes, there’d still be some shreds around.”

“Makes sense, let’s shut the site down for the day and go back to the motel and sleep on it.”
As they drove back to the site the next morning Davin said, “Got something to run by you. In my devotions last night, I felt led to read Ephesians. Are you familiar with chapter 6?”

“That’s the armor of God chapter?”
“Bingo. Now, after reading it last night, I’ve come to believe that the skeleton is both a warning and the answer to the demise of the United States,” Davin said.

“Go on.”
“Ok, in Ephesians, Paul wrote that we should put on the full armor of God in order to fight the devil. Paul lists helmet, breastplate, loin protection, shoes, the whole works. Well, the skeleton has only part of the armament, and, as you said, it’s dead. That’s the warning part,” Davin said.

“You’re losing me.”
“Just listen. In my study of the United States, I read they were on the road to moral decay. Many activities the Bible points to as ungodly were accepted and legalized.

“So, I believe God uses that skeleton as an indicator we need the full armor of God to fight the devil; not just part of it. I mean, when we dress for something special we put on all the clothes for that occasion and not just part of them. But, in our pride, if we neglect to clothe our lives with all of God's armor we risk the same demise as the United States.”
Steve was silent.

When they reached the site, they went to the partial excavation of the skeleton and looked at it in silence.
After awhile, Steve said, "Davin, you may have a point. Maybe the people in the United States were at the point they only wore part of the armor of God. Maybe it's like Paul talked about in the first chapter of Romans. I think it's verse 21 where he says that people profess Christianity but don't honor God."

"Makes sense to me Steve."
 
Scripture is from the NAS version of the Bible

 

 

 

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