It Only Takes a Drop
So I was thinking about preachers this week. Besides being married to one, our circle of friends contains a lot of folks who either were, still are, or hope to be preachers. I’ve even been accused of being a preacher myself, but as a Southern Baptist woman, that idea doesn’t fly very far. Be that as it may, I don’t see anything against “pontificating” about this or that, and in fact a lot of folks would say that’s what I’m doing right now, through this blog. Not preaching tho. Nope.
Anyway, recently (Ok, it was earlier this year when we could still travel), I came by a story that caught my attention. It was begging for a Scripture to connect to it, and after a LOT of thought and prayer, the idea for a few blogs started forming.
But first the story. We were in the Philippines and we came across a plaque commemorating Magellan and his visit back in March, 1521. Now if you paid attention in history class, then you probably all know about him. He was a Portuguese sailor, and is credited with being the first European to circumnavigate the globe. There’s actually a pretty good case being made for an earlier Chinese expedition, but unfortunately they didn’t have any plaques made up.
And when you dig a little deeper, you find that, while Magellan was Portuguese, he couldn’t get his country to fund his adventures, so he went to Spain. See also Columbus at about the same time. If you were a good little American school child like me, you’ll remember the jingle, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”
So how was it that Magellan didn’t finish the course? It seems he got into a battle while in the Philippines with some indigenous people who weren’t too keen on letting him claim the country for Spain (or for Catholicism for that matter, but that’s another story).
He and his crew got off their boat, which was anchored on the beach, and waged a strategic attack, utilizing all the vigor of the trained soldiers that they were.
They were outfitted with all the latest equipment, including some pretty impressive armor, and considered themselves invincible against a few puny spears and arrows. Unfortunately for Magellan, though, it wasn’t the spears and arrows that he should have been watching, but rather the surf he plunged into. While Spanish armor is formidable on the field of battle, it can be a distinct disadvantage when you’re standing in waist-deep water. Google doesn’t go into a lot of detail about that day, but the Philippine account seems to take great delight in describing the poor man and his valiant but not-so-thought-through attempt.
The sermon I’m seeing here, and which has plenty of scriptural reference to back it up, involves underestimating the power of an unexpected and insidious enemy. For Magellan, it was water mixed with a porous suit of armor. But we don’t have to look far to see other threats all around us. Right now, the world is battling a germ that can’t even be seen with the naked eye, and on a different level there are those sidelong glances, those barely audible comments and those spiritual attacks that many insist don’t even exist much less pose a threat.
So help me out here. Give me some hints, and let’s see what we can produce. The poem and hymn can come later.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [b]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Have a good week and keep your armor dry,
Marsha
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