Our Life - Seasons
By Susan Klein
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
I love autumn! Just the word “autumn” conjures up vivid images of sunlight filtering through color-drenched trees, and crisp breezes carrying leaves through the air. Laura Ingalls Wilder penned it perfectly when she wrote, “All those golden autumn days, the sky was full of wings.” I also enjoy driving by farm fields dotted with bright orange pumpkins, yellow squash, and gold-red apples in the orchards just waiting to be picked. What a feast for the eyes!
I don’t get the same mental portrait when I hear the word “fall.” Even though it is the same season, it is not the same image. I envision gloomy gray skies and blustery wind as I think of the “fall” of man, the first sin in the Garden of Eden. Like leaves fallen from their branches, lying dead on the ground, man fell away from his loving Creator. And because man chose to sin, he had to experience the dead of winter.
Winter in the north can be bitter. It is the time when the earth is barren, unfruitful. Winter can also be when a man’s heart is cold from his sin. There is no warmth of God’s fellowship. He is spiritually dead, separated from God. He cannot bear fruit when his heart is hardened like the ground. He needs spring!
Ah, spring! A time of blossoming buds, renewed warmth and new life! Just like spring rains bring life-giving nourishment to the earth, Jesus’ death and resurrection bring us the opportunity for new life and growth. Jesus took the bitter sting of winter’s death away so that we might experience the spring of new life! As the skies freely give us their rain, so God freely gave us His Son to be the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins. All we need do is accept His gift, just as the winter ground gratefully accepts the spring rain. Then, we can enjoy summer!
I love long summer days at the beach, basking in the warmth of the sun. I also love being in fellowship with my Heavenly Father, and basking in the love of His Son. Now, even when I come full circle and summer starts to fade, I will never again have to return to “fall.” It’s in the past, paid for, done. I’ve accepted God’s gift of His Son. I can now look forward to the wonderful feasts that lay ahead in autumn!
GOING FURTHER:
1. In terms of this devotional, what season are you in? Do you find yourself past the fall and “winter,” having received Christ’s gift of forgiveness and new life?
2. If you aren’t sure, would you be willing to explore it with someone you trust spiritually?
3. If you are sure, with whom could you share this seasons analogy today?
FURTHER READING:
Genesis 3; Romans 5: 6-8; Acts 3:19
Susan is our Tuesday Morning Women’s Bible Study Coordinator and one of its teachers. She is also involved in youth outreach ministry.
