Yes We Can

Back in the day, my grandchildren loved Bob The Builder. Bob, originally, was a stop-action cartoon character from Britain who lived with his friends in a nice little town along with a gang of friendly work vehicles like front-end loaders, diggers and dump trucks with very human characteristics. More recently he’s been CGI-ed and american-ized, he has several shows, a movie, a line of action figures and, of course, Lego.

Bob always seemed to have the right tools handy for any job. And if they're not already on his tool belt, they're either handy or he can make them. His catch phrase was "Can we fix it?" and then everyone would shout "Yes we can!" and off they would go and do just that.

You have to love his cheery, positive disposition. I always liked that, and his way of getting things done: he always seems to include everyone in doing things.  Good thing, since, according to Wikipedia at least, the show is meant to "emphasize conflict resolution, co-operation, socialization and various learning skills.” 

Maybe we should all watch it.

Or we could read the Letter to the Ephesians in the Bible. That's the one with the "Armour of God" passage: "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.; put on the whole armour of God … Stand, therefore, and belt your waist with truth and put on the breastplate of righteousness and lace up your sandals in preparation for the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:10-11, 14-17).

While some will stick with it, many might find the militaristic imagery makes the armour of God a confusing way to describe how we live God’s love into the world. Fair enough, although it’s worth exploring what it really means to be "embattled," perhaps even finding a little redemption for the language of conflict that so often leads to breaking down relationships. One could also explore the idea that armour is inherently protective and defensive, and the sword doesn’t have to be used for offence. We might prefer the rod and staff of the shepherd, but maybe that’s just not the author’s perspective. We can see where they’re going, nonetheless. 

To me, it's less about the militaristic baggage of armour and more important to know that we go with God, with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the Word of God. That's the only protection our spirit needs. And that’s not just something you wear, it’s something in you, however you see “the image of God.” It’s not just something to be worn, but to be lived and used.

That's why I like Bob the Builder. He has all the tools he needs to get the job done, he knows how to use them and he's ready to use them, and he’s ready to show others and work with them, too. Equally as much as armour, God's like the tool belt, overalls and hard hat that Bob's always wearing, ready to get to work.