National Umbrella Day

Brolly, gamp, bumbershoot—all British terms for something better known to most of us as the lowly, yet invaluable umbrella. Invaluable in our moment of need, yet lowly only minutes later.

We take it with us for protection from the elements, then often leave it behind in a store or a restaurant. How many umbrellas do you own? Many of us have one or more stashed in the trunk of our car and several additional ones at home.

We have travel brollies that fold for portability, oversized gamps to protect golfers from rain, and parasols for the sun. We have beach and patio umbrellas. Bumbershoots with curved handles, straight handles, or automatic mechanisms. We even have hands-free hat umbrellas.

But maybe the lowly bumbershoot is not so lowly after all. Consider that February 10 of each year is National Umbrella Day, celebrating an invention that has offered physical protection for approximately three thousand years.

Hmmm . . .wouldn’t it be nice if we had a spiritual counterpart? We do!

Spiritual Umbrellas

God provides at least two critical umbrellas of spiritual authority for Christians, offering the protection we desperately need:

• The Bible

God’s Word functions as a spiritual authority offering protection. Throughout the Old Testament, the Lord offered His people a choice: obey His commands and live a joy-filled life or live according to their own will and reap the consequences. In the New Testament, we read, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). And in Hebrews 4:12 we read, “The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

God isn’t an egomaniac who demands obedience just because He can. Instead, He knows the best thing for us is His best for us. We frequently don’t realize or understand this until it’s too late. Reminds me of the cliché, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” I confess, all too often I choose the hard way, much to my later regret.

• The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit also provides us with spiritual protection under His indwelling authority. He is fully God, the third Person of the Trinity who:

• • • Indwells every believer (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19)
    • Helps us keep God’s commandments (John 14:15-16)
    • Guides us (John 16:13)
    • Teaches us what we need to know (John 14:26; 1 Cor. 2:13)
    • Equips us with the power we need to live for the Lord (Acts 1:8)
    • Intercedes for us when we don’t know what to pray (Rom. 8:26)

Many will add a third spiritual “umbrella” to this list: the umbrella of earthly authorities. These human authorities include:

• • government (Rom. 13:1-3)
  • marriage & family structure (Col. 3:18-21)
  • church leadership (Heb. 13:17)
  • employers (1 Pet. 2:18)

Physical umbrellas with holes cannot perform the task for which they were created: to protect the holder from getting wet. The spiritual umbrella of the Bible and the Holy Spirit will always be perfect. However, human authorities will experience failures. We need biblical guidance and the Holy Spirit’s discernment to know how to respond when our human authorities fail us.

So whether you carry a brolly, gamp, or bumbershoot for protection against the rain, remember God has not left us unprotected in the spiritual realm either.

Happy National Umbrella Day!