Times and Seasons

Here in the Northeast part of these United States we are ready for Springtime! It’s been an epic winter, and not in the good sense. Tons of snow and ice, bitter cold, expensive and extensive damage will make this one stick in memory for a long time. But, the warmth will come.  In a couple of months the ice will be gone, the earth will green.  My life parallels the cycle of seasons.  There are times of sorrow, followed by days of joy. There are times of success and times of failure. There are arrivals and departures.

Our church will experience a departure this week. Eric came to us almost 4 years ago, new to ministry, full of optimism, ready for change.  He departs with a new degree, a promise of ordination, a wife, and hopefully, a heart and head full of memories. He leaves behind students who were taught and changed by his ministry and in the outreach that he spear-headed in the town. Watching his departure to a new call unfold, I noted that most are accepting that it is ‘the time,’ like the coming of a new season.  We enjoyed what Eric brought our way and now it is time for all of us to “grow” on seeing an end as a beginning. This is a lesson in life.

At the Pastor’s retreat that I attended this week the speaker, Gordon MacDonald, who is 74 years of age and fresh in his thinking, urged us to think of our lives as a four lap race. The first 20 years we get ready, developing character, learning from others.  The next 20 years we work at assembling skills, discovering strengths, growing into maturity.  From 40 to 60 we are equipped to make our maximum contribution to the world using our experience, resources, and positions in the structures of business and society. The final lap from 60 to 80 is not, as many think, a time to retire. It’s a season of influence.  As we move out of organizational positions we have the time for extended conversations, the time to come alongside people to offer encouragement and affirmation, and the opportunity to build lives through wisdom. What a way to see life – a natural flow, a planned progression, God’s plan and purpose in each season.

Unlike the inevitable flow of  winter into spring, our lives can get derailed. We can resist change. We can slip into sin and hinder progress. So, Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit, tells us that focus and discipline are necessary. "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, NIV)  The language seems harsh at first. “I beat my body,” he writes.  I wrestle into submission those impulses that would sideline me in the race.  How many have disqualified themselves by giving into temptation, by loving leisure, or by losing sight of the finish line?  God help us to match the power of His Spirit and steely determination so that we will run the race well.

Where are you in the flow of time? 
Are you moving with God’s seasons, making the most of each time?
Are you aware of time’s passing, but ready to respond to the call of the Spirit today? 

Our word from the Word urges us to leave and look, to forget and to anticipate.  Read it with a prayer to finish well, both in the present season and in life itself.

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, …
Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. …

I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!" (Philippians 3:10-4:1, NIV)

Thank you Lord for the lessons of yesterday,

the opportunities of today, and

the promise of tomorrow.

Help us to make the most of Today,

even as we look and listen for Your call to move onward.

In Jesus’ Name.

Amen