23 The Valiant Knight
The knight Sir Dudley sat quietly in the castle, bruised and beaten after his latest defeat against his arch-nemesis the evil wizard Beasley. The wizard has wrecked havoc on the kingdom and gravely injured virtually all of the king's knights. Only Sir Dudley was strong enough to endure the beating the evil wizard gave him to fight again the next day. However, the knight has been already defeated twice. The hope of the kingdom rested upon his shoulders. Shame-faced and humiliated, he turned to his faithful squire Rutherford, who was attending his wounds.
"Rutherford," lamented Sir Dudley, "I have been soundly trounced once again! How can I ever defeat this fiendish scoundrel?"
"Master Dudley," replied Rutherford, "Perhaps you should ride against him in your full armor."
"What?" exclaimed Sir Dudley. "If I do that,my mobility is lessened greatly! I am fighting a wizard, not a dragon! That is why I have been trying to battle that varlot wearing only a light chain vest."
"I understand, Master Dudley," replied Rutherford, "however, the evil wizard has stepped on your toes and smacked you around with his staff. Even when you dodge those attacks, he burns you with his magic fireballs. In addition, you have difficulty getting close enough to him to hurt him with your daggers. If you put on your full armor, he cannot hurt you much if he tried to step on your toes or bop you on the head with his staff. Your shield can protect you from those fireballs and your sword is long enough to strike him."
"Zounds! You are correct!" said Sir Dudley excitedly. "I thank you for your sound advice, good squire. Let us pray together that I will do as you say and defeat my arch-enemy tomorrow and bring peace to our kingdom!"
What is the full armor of God? Paul the Apostle wrote in the book of Ephesians that we need to gird our waists with truth, put on the breastplate of righteousness, protect our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, take up the shield of faith to protect us from Satan's fiery attacks, put on the helmet of salvation, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (the Bible). In addition, we must pray constantly and be vigilant. Only then can we persevere against sin and temptation.
- Recommended reading: Ephesians 6:11-18
