The Importance of Seasons

photo by sant.o

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV)

Our lives are marked by the passage of time.  We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries; we have graduation ceremonies; we throw retirement parties.  Major events and milestones are represented by entire sections of Hallmark greeting cards.  As human beings created by God, we have been given the ability to remember and the ability to sense the passage of time in order to help us make sense of our existence.

This is different than, say, the life of a dog.  Our dogs have no sense of time (beyond when it’s time to eat, sleep, or go outside).  They do not place any emphasis on the day of their birth.  They do not celebrate the anniversary of when they came into our home.  And they certainly don’t send greeting cards to other people at specific times of the year – although I think I’ve seen a few cards for sale that claim to be sent from someone’s pet.

Today marks the beginning of “deer season” – or more appropriately, as I’ve learned in the past year, “firearm season.”  For the next few weeks, many people in our church and community will spend a great deal of time outdoors looking and waiting for just the right shot to take.  The anticipation I’ve seen several men express before this day came reminds me of the anticipation children have in the days leading up to Christmas.  There’s a raw, palpable excitement in the air as we have been preparing for this season.

Thank God for the gift of seasons!  Can you imagine how dull and uninteresting life might be if it were always rifle season, or always winter, or always baseball season?  (I’m serious!  Sometimes a bad baseball season just needs to come to an end.)  As Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us, life is full of seasons, or times when certain actions or feelings are more natural than others.  I believe this is part of God’s design for humanity:  to know seasons, to know change, to recognize that time is passing, to live with an awareness that we have the potential to grow.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God “has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (NIV).

We are always aware of the change in our seasons.  In this we are a step ahead of our canine friends.  Are we as aware that God is so much more complex and amazing than even we can imagine?  Can we begin to wrap our minds around what God has done throughout all history?

And to think that the fullness of God dwells in the person of Jesus!  (See Colossians 1:15-20.)  What an astounding thought:  that we are invited to know this Jesus personally, intimately, deeply; to worship him, to learn from him, to be forgiven by him, to become more like him on a daily basis.  How amazing!  This is a truth that is worth sharing with others.  It is one that will never go out of season.

–Pastor David

Blackberry Season

As I mentioned last week, we are in the midst of blackberry season here at the parsonage.  Every couple of days, I head out to the edge of the woods and pick another quart or so of berries.  (We’re always up for sharing, these, by the way – if you’d like some, just let us know!)  This summer, I’ve taken the opportunity to watch these plants and the growth and development of their fruit.  I’ve learned a lot, and you probably won’t be surprised to hear that I see some connections between this blackberry business and our walk as disciples of Christ.

When picking berries, you have to watch out for thorns.  These plants have a natural defense system that can be a bit painful for the careless berry picker.  The thorns often dig into my jeans and my shirt, and I’m glad to take the time to pull them away from my clothing because I realize I don’t have to pull them out of my skin.  Patience, persistence, and careful attention to the task at hand are some of the benefits of practicing this discipline.  How often do we as followers of Christ need to learn these things?  While we work to harvest good crops (that means other people) for the Lord, we may be stuck by thorns, but the harvest still awaits!

I’ve been surprised by some plants that have been broken or damaged in the past.  Even though a plant is weakened and literally bends at a 90 degree angle, it can still produce good fruit.  Sometimes the fruit is of lower quality than the completely healthy plants, but sometimes the fruit is perfect.  Who among us is without breaks or cracks in our personal histories?  If God can cause a broken blackberry plant to produce good fruit (even though the break is obvious to everyone), then he surely can help a broken person to walk in faith and produce good fruit as well.

Finally, our blackberry plants have to compete with a few other plants for space, nutrients, and sunlight.  One vine in particular is very good at wrapping itself around other plants and growing very quickly.  I’ve had to pull out some of these vines in order to get to the good plants.  Several weeks ago, I commented in our Sunday morning service that I couldn’t tell weed from good plant – but now I certainly can!  Once the fruit appears, it’s very easy to know which plant is which.  That reminds me of some words of Jesus:

“Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruit you will recognize them.  Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:15-20 NIV)

Friends, bear good fruit for the Lord.  Watch out for worldly influences that do not reflect Christ’s character.  Allow the Lord to form, shape, prune, and cultivate you so that his harvest will be great.

–Pastor David

Surprise Snow

I still have enough “Indiana” in me that I don’t think of March as a month for snow. March is a month for basketball, budding flowers and trees, chirping birds, and a fair bit of rain. Imagine my surprise when we woke up to half a foot of snow this morning! Yes, the weather forecast told me this would happen ahead of time, but it still caught me a bit off guard.

It strikes me that surprise is a very human experience. Some people enjoy surprise birthday parties; some like movies or books with surprise endings. Other people dislike any kind of surprise because of their emotional or physical reactions to surprises. So the ability to be surprised is a pretty common human characteristic. But what about surprise in the life of the Christian? What do our scriptures say about surprises?

In the Old Testament, we read that we should not be surprised when we see injustice in the world, because that’s just the way the world works (Ecclesiastes 5:8). In the teachings of Jesus, we read that we should not be surprised by his call for us to be “born again” (John 3:7). And in several New Testament letters, we read that we should not be surprised by various trials or by the return of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 5:1-4, 1 Peter 4:12-16, 1 John 3:13).

As human beings, we will always be surprised by one thing or another. However, when it comes to matters of faith, we are to have confidence in our Lord: in his faithfulness to us, in his promised return, in his strength that enables us to withstand any trial. And this confidence extends to our mission, as well. We are called by the Lord to meet the needs of those who are in need in our community, so we should face that call, those needs, and the people who are involved with confidence rather than with surprise. The Bible and the course of human history teach us that injustice, poverty, abuse, and all kinds of social ills will always exist in our world – and every generation needs to hear the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. Our work is ongoing!

The difference between surprise and anticipation is the difference between being caught off guard and being prepared. In time, I will learn to anticipate snowfall in March (and April? and May?!). In the life of the church, the difference between surprise and anticipation is as great as night and day. I believe that moving toward an attitude of anticipation is part of the process of becoming more like Christ, who always seemed to anticipate the next step rather than to express surprise at a new development in his life. What would our fellowship look like if we lived in constant anticipation of the Lord’s return? What would it look like if we anticipated the needs of our community, both physical and spiritual, before we learned about specific problems facing specific people? I think these attitudes can transform our relationships with each other and with the Lord. What do you think?

–Pastor David

Getting Ready

Wow, what a snowstorm!  I think Tara and I are starting to get a feel for what Michigan winters are all about.  They say this is unusual, though, so perhaps it’s not quite like this every year.  In any case, I find it fascinating how the human instinct to survive kicks in just before major storms like this.  People stock up on food, water, and other supplies; they buy candles and flashlights in case the power goes out; they do all sorts of things to get ready.

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First Snow

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  Tara and I come from Indiana, where we often were left merely dreaming of a white Christmas.  More common was the muddy or occasionally green(!) Christmas.  But with last weekend’s snowfall firmly in place, we seem to be set on the most traditional of courses this season.  Why does the weather seem to affect our experience of this Christmas season? Continue reading

Hunting Season

As many of you know, Tara and I are new to the area, and we are just beginning to learn what mid-November is like in central Michigan.  We are used to hearing gunshots in inner-city Indianapolis, but now we are hearing gunshots with a different purpose.  Regardless of how you feel about hunting animals, I hope we can all agree that this use of gunpower is preferable to the alternative!

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