End of the Summer
Often, Labor Day is considered the end of the summer. School has started, summer student help is disappearing, the weather begins to change, camp sites start to close down, and some people are starting to retire their summer activities. I headed up north with my wife so that we could visit my mom. As we were driving, we noted all the campers that were headed south as people were getting ready to back to the normal flow of work. Going back to normal. There is a strange statement. What is normal and why do we so easily accept that our life is somehow bound by this normalcy? When I read about God’s people in the Bible, there were some things that were consistent, but there was so much that was different. I don’t believe that God calls us to a boring monotonous life. His mercies are new every morning. His promises are unshakeable. His forgiveness is healing. His grace is wonderful. His love is unconditional. His word is inerrant and infallible. His joy is overflowing. The list goes on. When is the last time you shared with someone what God was doing in your life? Every time you share, there will be a different reaction and new conversations. I think we go to normalcy because we are afraid to change or what God might call us to do if we were fully devoted to Him. As believers, if you are not going to Bible studies, now is the time to begin. If you go to church and are not praying and expecting that God will reveal something new for you, you may be dying inside. We indeed have a faithful God, but typically, He isn’t going to force us to do anything. He does however call us to follow Him... to make disciples... to teach people obedience... and to gather around the word and the sacraments. So, if your life is feeling too normal, ask God if that is the way you should be feeling. Are you willing to be used by God? Do you see yourself as an ambassador for Christ, representing Him wherever you go? If not, why? And then there is the reading of God’s word. How can it get boring. There are so many treasures that God is revealing for us, but it requires that we are in that word. The older we get, sometimes the more set we are in our ways. As life unwinds, where is our urgency to declare God? Heavenly Father, forgive me for wanting everything predictable. Help me instead desire to be useable... by You. Amen