Repost from a previous blog post
Fall is right around the corner, bringing pumpkin and apple-spiced everything, colder weather, cozy clothing, and bright colors of leaves on the trees. When I think of fall, I see trees full of colors and a pile of leaves on the ground that have already fallen. There is a smell of a bonfire that is burning in the distance and a crispness in the air. This sounds like a perfect reprieve from the hot summer days that have been hanging about far too long. If you haven’t put two and two together by now, fall is my favorite season for the reasons previously mentioned and many more. Many of you may agree while others may have another favorite season that they long for every year.
Regardless, fall, as well as all the other seasons all reflect the love that God has for all of us. As such, as we prepare for fall I would like to take a look at how we can see God in the season. As I said previously, there are people who prefer other seasons. For example, I was recently talking to someone about fall and they voiced how much they disliked the season because it reminds them of death and sadness. They said they didn’t like the way the trees were bare and looked like they had passed away. While I completely understand the thought behind that statement I would have to strongly disagree that fall is about death and more about the process of being reborn and being made new.
This concept is not farfetched for us Christians to grasp as we experienced a similar occurrence in our own lives when we became new through God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice. We were once all like the trees that are full of color trying to hang on to their leaves. We once were trying to hang on to what we thought our life would be but in due time we found that it is better to be who God has created us to be and we had to die to ourselves to be reborn in the image of God. Although the trees do this process on a yearly basis we must complete this process many times throughout the year and have to remind ourselves that we are a new creation not drawn to our old ways many times a day. We have to die to our sinful desires, selfish desires, and worldly-focused minds so that we can be found in God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 puts it this way,
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
After the leaves have turned and have fallen to the ground it looks as if the tree is dead, it looks bare and lifeless. That is how we might look to our former friends or family when we do our transformation into our new life. They might have a hard time understanding why the sinful thing we once enjoyed does not give us joy anymore. Our new life in God might seem dull and lifeless to them in comparison to the life we once lived. What they cannot see is the future that is to come and the beauty of the leaves to come. During the time in which we seem empty and bare, we are actually growing stronger in our ways with the Lord and preparing for our mission to spread the message of reconciliation. Nothing says I have been redeemed more than a story of a nobody turned into a child of the King.
So this season, instead of looking at fall as a time of death and sadness choose to see the life that it brings. Be reminded that God is in control of this season and every other season we may face. Even if we find ourselves in a season of hurt or pain God will see us through and Guide us to a better season. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 tells us of all the seasons we may face as a believer, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” God has a purpose for us in every season we face, we just have to allow Him to work with us through every season. So if you find yourself in a season that seems neverending take notes from the trees of fall. They might look and feel empty, cold, and lifeless during a time but better things are to come and beauty will return in due time.
Me in fall... Remember it is wrong to judge!