Summer's here. I'm writing this on the Saturday morning after TCS graduation ceremony, which means, if you go to Trinity at least, summer is officially here.
I can't tell you that i'm not excited. I love summers in North Carolina. Growing up in a country that often skipped that season makes you all the more glad for a summer that starts in mid-May and runs through mid-September. Marrying a teacher makes you even more glad. I'll be a while before i set my alarm for 5.15 am again. So of course i'm excited about that.
I love summer because i get quantity time with my wife, because i get to travel, this year to Chicago and Provo. I love summer because it's an opportunity to breathe, and relax, and enjoy.
But summer has it's dangers too. Summer can shrivel your soul. Don't let it.
The routine of the school year, though tiring, is a great help. You're used to getting up five days a week, so getting up on Sunday is less of a chore. You're used to working and reading, so time in the Bible seems less of an issue. But what can happen in the summer? Nights get later, and temptations get greater.
Summer will shrivel your soul if you let it. And i'm not talking about gross sin, or even consistent bad decisions about how to spend your time, or with whom to spend your time, i'm talking about the passion of your heart in the summer.
How hard to be stirred by the Word of God on a Sunday morning if you went to be at 3am. How hard to make it back to church on a Sunday night when it's sunny, in the mid 80s and the grill is firing. These aren't things we need to deal with in December.
Summer exists to give us a taste of Heaven. Summer is a Facebook message from your long distance girlfriend. When i visited the States before i moved here, i didn't Facebook Rachel anymore, we held hands and went to Bojangles. I didn't let the message distract me from the messenger.
Don't let summer distract you from Jesus. Use the time summer gives you to pray, to read, to think and to share. use the beauty of a slow summer sunset to think on the beauty of the Gospel. use the freedom to serve. Go on a mission trip, be faithful to church, call your youth pastor and take him out to lunch. Make sure your affections are higher for your Saviour than for the beach. Make sure you priorities are knowing God better, rather than working on your jump shot. Love the messenger, not the message.
Make sure summer sustains your soul, don't let it shrivel your soul.
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