God In The Seasons
Mon/03/Nov 2008
The gang and I had a chance to take a road trip yesterday afternoon to General Butler State Park. The weather was perfect and we wanted to get out of town and see some of our region that we had never seen before. On a whim, we headed south on US 42, which follows the Ohio River down to the little town of Carrolton, KY. Its claim to fame is the afore mentioned park. It was a beautiful drive and an even more beautiful park. The leaves were in full bloom, and combined with the weather, it made for a great evening. I would love to share some pictures, but we forgot the camera.
This little trip got me thinking of how nature, and specifically the seasons of the year, mirror God’s plan of redemption. God created the universe in perfect harmony, yet sin destroyed that harmony and brought about the bitter winter of death and separation from God. But God didn’t leave us “out in the cold.” Christ was born in the midst of the cold, and lived through the winter with humanity. In the fullness of time, Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected to life n the spring (a picture of a seed dying, being planted, and sprouting to life). The age of the church seems to be pictured in the mixed blessings of summer. It is a time of growth and light, but it is also filled with turbulence and storms. By the time late summer comes around, we are all looking forward to Autumn. Everyone looks forward to the fall. All the work of spring and summer are culminated in the harvest. There is a sense of accomplishment and nostalgia in the fall of the year. This coincides with the mystery of Christ’s second coming, when all storms, laboring, and turbulence will cease. Best of all, this harvest will never end. We do not have to dread the end of fall, because Christ’s harvest will last for an eternity.
