Embarrassment

I was about to go to bed and suddenly realized it's Tuesday and I hadn't done a blog post yet today.  What follows is something I had written before that ties in a bit with the Fourth of July holiday.

Joshua 6
The Fall of Jericho
 
The city of Jericho is under siege by the Israelis.  The people of the city sit safely inside the walls of the city.  For six days the Israelis march around the city blowing trumpets.  On the seventh day, they march around seven times.  This time at the end, when they blow the trumpets the people all shout and the walls fall and the city falls. 
 
We had this reading one Sunday at Shepherd of the Hills and as I listened I thought I knew what the sermon would say about it.  I was wrong; it went in a completely different direction.  What follows below is what I thought the sermon would be about.
 
I remember when I was little my aunt and uncle would host a Fourth of July picnic.  One of the activities would involve one of the relatives playing patriotic tunes on the piano while we kids marched around waving little hand-held flags wearing hats that were made from folded up newspapers.  As I got older it was a bit embarrassing, what were people thinking of me, and all that garbage.
 
If you were one of the Israelites marching around Jericho what would you be thinking?  With the defenders of Jericho taunting you as you marched.  Would you be slightly embarrassed with the marching and trumpets blowing?  I mean what good is it doing?  Only in the end did it God’s plan become clear.
 
Rick Warren, the author of The Purpose Driven Life, talks about his father asking him how many people he was going to save today.  What a lot of pressure that would be.  Can you imagine it?  Everyone you talk to would have to be as if it was day seven at Jericho.  Sometimes that may be the case, but not always.  There are six other days.  Does blowing your trumpet on the first six days not count?  A farmer plows the ground and plants seeds.  Is that not as important as the harvest?  Even Jesus had “a voice crying the in wilderness” to prepare the way. 
 
We should keep trying, reaching out, acting as Christians.  We can’t know the full impact of our actions.  We can’t know where everything fits in God’s plan until the end.  How someone comes to God is a process.  So, keep setting a Christian example.  Smile at others, be polite, act silly without being embarrassed.  Plant seeds for God’s grace to harvest.