"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest [your] hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." -I Peter 1:13 (NKJV)

"So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. " -I Peter 1:13 (The Message)

I can't stand the Message.  I'm sorry, but I find it heretical.  Case in point, I was contemplating one of Scriptures best phrases to gird up the loins of my mind.  I found it here in 1 Peter 1 and decided to go see how it translated in The Message.  That one got stuck in the bottle and still floating out at sea.

Let me translate it into "Jon's Message."  Ready?  "Grow some balls, get your $#!& together, and be ready for Jesus."  Oh...whoops.  That one might cause me to forfeit the PG-13 rating!

Alright, I confess that might be a little over the top and way too generalized.  But aren't you sick and tired of the "golly, gee, shucks" tone of Christianity, as demonstrated though the Message?  It's supposed to be the Bible, but sanitized for those on a very bland diet.  I call it Bible baby formula.  Like the lukewarm church of Laodicea in Revelations 3, I just want to spit it out.  Give me solid food!

I'm pretty sure "gird up your loins" doesn't really translate to "roll up your sleeves."  Back in the day, men were not wearing loin cloths like wristbands.  No, girding up loins is essentially clothing the little man.  In athletics, it would be like putting on the jock strap.  In baseball, it is getting your cup situated.  So, therefore, my modern day translation would be to grow a pair and get it together.

So, what does that mean mentally?  If girding up the loins is an act of protecting the privates, then mentally we must protect the privates of our mind.  I'm talking about the deep down personal thoughts that we don't share with one another.

How do we guard our minds, then?  That is the part I loosely translated "be ready for Jesus."  This means we need to rest our hope in his grace towards us.  By resting in Him, our hearts reflect His revelation to us.  That is a present reality as well as a future promise for when Christ returns in full glory.

It's a daily battle.  You don't put on the protection to go sit in a chair and read a book.  In protecting your inner most being, you are preparing for battle.  The devil lies in wait, so we must be ready.  If not, how can we go on living?  The greatest battle we face is living for Him.

It's no wonder that the modern evangelical church would struggle with this verse.  I look around and see emasculated men all around me.   We are taught to believe we are inadequate as one of the devil's ploys against us.  Instead of living for Him, we are sold the same lies that led to Adam and Eve eating that forbidden fruit.  It's the same sad story - you can be like God on one hand, but you're not measuring up on the other.

Romans 6:23 says that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Outside of him, we ARE inadequate.  However, He doesn't leave us there.  How amazing that He would love us before we love Him!  Thankfully, He is patient with us and He IS our protection!  Nothing can penetrate His loving care.

So, whenever you feel like you're getting kicked in the balls, remember that our Savior was nailed to the cross. Christ girded up His loins for us to protect us from the Father's just wrath for our sin.  The feeling of getting hit in the family jewels passes away.  What Christ did on the cross enabled our sins to pass away forever. 

BONUS: How do you gird up your loins today? [Marantha Baptist Bible College]