Summer Begins

SUMMER BEGINS!

I hope you accomplish the work that you have been planning to do this summer and I hope you enjoy the leisure time you have looked forward to during the winter months. But most importantly, I hope that you grow in faith during the summer.

Curiously enough, nearly every year someone will apologize for other members who “take a vacation from church” during the summer months. I always smile when I hear such things, not because I agree or think that it is funny, but because we human beings have been trying to do that kind of thing since Adam & Eve ate the“forbidden fruit” in the Garden of Eden.

Truth is that we can’t take a vacation from God any more than we can take a vacation from breathing or thinking. We cannot escape God, even if it is our desire to do so.

And when you think about it, who really wants to escape a loving and forgiving God? How much better it is to embrace such a God even while we are enjoying the summer months.

Our personal relationship with our living God is a continual and lifelong relationship. While God loves us as we are, God would also have us grow in our faith.

And we will grow in faith as we praise and thank God, daily pray for others, give generously to those in need, receive God’s word with joy, share in the Sacraments, live out the love of God, follow in the path of Christ, and strive to be a courageous believer.

During the upcoming summer months, I encourage you to count your blessings and rejoice in God’s good creation. Practice being better than the best Christian you have ever met. Be foolishly generous and extraordinarily kind for no reason. Put aside every past grudge or wound you have suffered. Smile often because God has created your face to smile.

Find opportunities to speak words of hope and share your personal story of faith with others who need to hear it. Encourage the young and assure the old that God is still in charge and that despite the foolish and wicked ways of the world, God will not only prevail, but will be triumphant!

And finally, while it may be hard at times to believe this, in Jesus Christ and by God’s amazing grace, everything ends well!

Peace, Hope, Love, and Joy to All
– In Jesus’ Name!

Pastor Mike