The Seasons of Faith

The cool somber gray of autumn has started to descend. The damp morning air clings to body and soul. Once proud leaves droop as greens fade to orange, yellow, red, and eventually, brown. The gentle breeze no longer offers its sweet relief, but sterner warnings of winter's coming. Things are changing, always changing.

Life, like the world it lives in, is always changing. Seasons come and seasons go. The seasons are life are no different. Some have equated the developmental stages of life to seasons: birth (spring), youth (summer), middle age (autumn), old age and death (winter). Yet even in those stages of life we go through cycles of seasons.

In my experience, spiritual life has its cycles of seasons. It's rare to move to the renewal of spring without going through the "death" of winter. Think of it this way: when we come to faith in Christ we are in the "spring" of our faith. Life is new and eager, yet not fully matured. With the passing of time and testing of the individual, they blossom into the maturity. In the summer of faith, life grows and matures. The autumn of faith is harvest time. Even as the believer experiences productivity, things begin to slow down. Winter, then, is a time when things cool off.

In this analogy, spiritual winter is not death. Like actual winter, it is more of a time of hibernation. Spiritual passions cool. Growth appears nonexistent. However, life is below the surface awaiting the right moment to ignite renewal.

Maybe you have just come through a particularly difficult spiritual summer. Maybe you feel withered under the hot sun of persecution or tribulation. You have prematurely browned into the autumn of faith. You are tired and uncertain.

What do you do? You endure. This, too, will pass. The seasons of faith are not like the seasons of the year. They don't have regular time periods. They can be cycled through rapidly, like in a time lapse video, or they may stretch out over the course of years.

The Lord renews those who wait upon him. Isaiah said, "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isa. 40:31, NIV).

Self-control

In 2 Peter 1:5-8, Peter gives us a framework for maturing in Christ. He commands us to add to our faith. I have been using this framework for a series of lessons at Monticello on Wednesday nights. Tonight, we covered self-control.

What is self-control? Let's skip the "control of self" answer, and dig a little deeper. It covers discipline, and the resistance of temptation (including avoiding the cookie aisle). Self-control is the restraint of one's emotions, impulses, and desires. It is mastery of one's self.

When we come to faith in Christ we are no longer our own. Jesus speaks of it in terms of losing and saving our lives. In Mark 8:35 he says, "For whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it."  Paul tells us, "Do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God? Your are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Cor. 6:19-20, HCSB).

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul uses the metaphor of a race to explain the self-controlled life. Here are some principles to guide us.

1. We need to set our mind to it. We are all in the race, and all the runners run.

2. We need to establish our priorities. As runners, we run the race to win.

3. We need to focus on what is gained. When athletes train, they give up a lot. But they do it to gain a prize. Paul says they run for a prize that fades, but we run for an eternal crown.

4. We need to work hard. We aren't called to run in circles in the faith, but to move with discipline. We are to master our bodies and souls, so that we can bring glory to God.

5. We need to fear failure. Paul said that he ran in a way that would keep himself from being disqualified. He didn't want to get to the end and see that it was all for nothing.

Self-control grows as we grow in our knowledge of Christ and the gospel. It grows as we exercise goodness and faith. We are commanded to exercise control over our emotions, impulses, and desires. We should instead be driven by the glory of Christ.

All I Want for Christmas

As a child, I spent a great deal of time laboring over my Christmas list.  I spelled out in great detail the numerous items that I wanted.  I wanted almost everything I saw.  Of course, from the ages of four to twelve my list revolved around G. I. Joe (3 3/4 inch action figures).  Every year about twenty (or forty) Joes and eight (or ten) Cobras would hit the market.  Most boys in the 80's needed every G. I. Joe and every Cobra (they really need 10 or 20 of each Cobra soldier to even out the battle ratios).

We opened Christmas presents on Christmas Eve in my family.  Each year my I would start my Christmas list immediately after opening my last gift.  Usually, it included numerous G. I. Joes and Cobra soldiers that didn't make it under the tree.  However, it would grow at an ever increasing pace leading up until dinner on Christmas Eve.  Every year I would almost cry (sometimes I succeeded), because something was left off my list.  I scoop up my loot and go pout in my room, unsatisfied and ungrateful.

Writing these words shames in me.  Looking back on the spoiled brat I was (and still can be) I wish my parents efforts would have been more greatly rewarded.  It seems, looking back on it, it was never enough.  Ten or twenty G. I. Joes at $4 a pop was an expensive proposition, and that doesn't include the vehicles or non-Joe stuff I wanted.  Maybe my parents should have just given me a lump of coal, since I was going to pout anyway.  But that's not their style.  They're givers.

I would like to think that I have matured over the years.  I have struggled to become a gracious receiver, although at times I really fall short.  I don't struggle as much as I used to with the "want bug," but I still struggle too much.  At one time, I couldn't hardly pass a book without buying it.  Now, I try to make more responsible choices.  I want to be a good steward of all God has given me.  I want to have money to adopt again, to give to missions, and to help those in need.  I don't need another box of toys to stuff in storage or another stack of books (that one was hard to write).

I have been trying to answer the question, "What do you want for Christmas this year?," for the last several weeks.  But my wanter seems broken.  I don't have a long list of desires.  There are a few books that would be nice to own, but I can't find time to read the ones I already have.  There are a list of impractical toys I could borrow money to buy myself like a motorcycle, an ATV, a 50" LCD T.V., a home theater system, or any number of other things.  However, whatever pops in my mind is systematically eliminated for being too expensive, too impractical, or too unnecessary.

I have come to the conclusion that I don't really want any "thing" for Christmas.  I have collected things most of my life.  They sit collecting dust on a shelf, in a closet, or in the attic.  The reality is that I am truly blessed.  The Lord has surrounded me with wonderful people who love me.  I have a place to rest my head and food to eat.  I don't know what I want, because I have so much.

I guess what I am trying to say is that what I really want for Christmas is to grow in gratitude.  I want to be able to open a gift from someone and be thankful that they would even think of me.  I want to receive it as the treasure it truly is, because it is an expression of love.  I want to be able to sit and watch Sophia open her gifts, and not notice that she has more gifts than I do.  I want to spend Christmas making memories and forming traditions.  I want to celebrate the birth of my Savior, because he is "God with us."  I want to continue learning contentment, while similutaneously simplifying my life. I want to live every day praising God, because of his glorious grace and mercy.  This Christmas, and hopefully every day after, I want to live consciously aware of the grace that has been shown to me through Jesus Christ my Lord.  I pray your Christmas is rich and rewarding as you celebrate the gracious gift of Christ.

Choices

At this time last week Delia and I were making plans to leave for Guatemala; however, many of our friends and family members gently urged us to think through our plans more wisely. Our main reason for desiring to go so early is to be with our daughter. Once we get to Guatemala (depending on the time and day) they will bring her to us and we will get to keep her. But, we are stalled right now because we don't have the pink slip (our appointment with the Embassy). Without the appointment, we don't know how long we would be in Guatemala or how to budget for such a stay. There would be additional fees for changing our tickets, additional nights at the hotel, etc., and without knowing when it all would be over, we had to make a choice.

With no known end date, wisdom dictated that waiting was the best choice. Now by best, I do not mean most pleasant or easiest. I mean that it is the mature decision. We must always remember that when we seek to live in Christian maturity we will often have to choose paths that are unpleasant and difficult. It is also important to remember as we endure these challenges, by grace through faith, we are never alone. The Lord is with us, strengthening us for the task, working his will through us, and encouraging us through his people. We, as the children of God, are called to persevere until we reach full maturity in Christ. Let us turn to him day by day and seek the grace and help we need to endure to the end, for he will surely grant it.