FALL: MELANCHOLY OR FULL OF JOY
With temperatures still in the 90s, most Calaveras County residents aren't dragging sweaters out of storage or skipping out for walks in the crisp cool air. Such high temperatures will not coax color changes in the trees nor make leaves fall from branches. But according to the calendar, fall 2009 has arrived and one of these days we'll feel it in the air. Let's take a moment to ponder this incredible season.
Some people associate fall with transition from warm to cold weather, harvest, gray skies, and a pervasive spirit of melancholy. The carefree days of summer have passed and the routine of work and school blankets our shoulders like a heavy woolen poncho. Other people think of holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the ever-escalating rush toward Christmas. Not me. I love fall. I love the brilliant colors, the crunch of leaves underfoot, and the lower temperatures. I love visiting old gold rush towns like Nevada City or Murphys in the fall. You'll never convince me that the vibrant leaf colors in our own Sierra Nevada Foothills aren't every bit as wonderful as anything New England has to offer--bright red, purple, yellow, brown, orange. God's artistic mastery of these combinations amazes and awes. Did you know that the leaf colors red, yellow, and brown are in the leaves all year long and only become exposed when the green chlorophyll disappears in the fall? There's a life-lesson there. Does maturity bring different but equally beautiful color into our lives or do we crumple and wither as we age?
As I contemplated fall this morning, I considered ways of honoring God during this colorful season.
I can fall on my knees before Creator God who made this amazing varied world for our pleasure and enjoyment. Do we worship Him daily in gratitude for His gift of beauty and eyes to see it?
I can fall in love with Jesus all over again. Jesus--Savior, Redeemer. Do we greet each morning in reverence and thanksgiving for Jesus' gift of eternal abundant life? He died to set us free. How free are we today? That's what Jesus' gift offers: freedom, peace, and everlasting joy. Are we feeling it?
I can let my old sinful nature fall away and allow the Holy Spirit to control my thoughts, words, and actions. Romans 8:5-9, "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you." How are we doing with that? Do we ask God every day for power over our sinful natures?
This year, I propose that we make the falling of the leaves symbolic of the falling away of our old habits and desires. Those dry lifeless things that burden us and weigh us down. Let them go. Get ready for a spiritual "spring time" when God replaces our old nature with a glorious new work, like bright green new growth. Let go of sorrow, pain, and melancholy. Let negative self-talk and complaining go. In Christ is life and light. He's ready to begin a new work in us. Come, Holy Spirit, have your way. Fall upon us today.
Some people associate fall with transition from warm to cold weather, harvest, gray skies, and a pervasive spirit of melancholy. The carefree days of summer have passed and the routine of work and school blankets our shoulders like a heavy woolen poncho. Other people think of holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the ever-escalating rush toward Christmas. Not me. I love fall. I love the brilliant colors, the crunch of leaves underfoot, and the lower temperatures. I love visiting old gold rush towns like Nevada City or Murphys in the fall. You'll never convince me that the vibrant leaf colors in our own Sierra Nevada Foothills aren't every bit as wonderful as anything New England has to offer--bright red, purple, yellow, brown, orange. God's artistic mastery of these combinations amazes and awes. Did you know that the leaf colors red, yellow, and brown are in the leaves all year long and only become exposed when the green chlorophyll disappears in the fall? There's a life-lesson there. Does maturity bring different but equally beautiful color into our lives or do we crumple and wither as we age?
As I contemplated fall this morning, I considered ways of honoring God during this colorful season.
I can fall on my knees before Creator God who made this amazing varied world for our pleasure and enjoyment. Do we worship Him daily in gratitude for His gift of beauty and eyes to see it?
I can fall in love with Jesus all over again. Jesus--Savior, Redeemer. Do we greet each morning in reverence and thanksgiving for Jesus' gift of eternal abundant life? He died to set us free. How free are we today? That's what Jesus' gift offers: freedom, peace, and everlasting joy. Are we feeling it?
I can let my old sinful nature fall away and allow the Holy Spirit to control my thoughts, words, and actions. Romans 8:5-9, "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you." How are we doing with that? Do we ask God every day for power over our sinful natures?
This year, I propose that we make the falling of the leaves symbolic of the falling away of our old habits and desires. Those dry lifeless things that burden us and weigh us down. Let them go. Get ready for a spiritual "spring time" when God replaces our old nature with a glorious new work, like bright green new growth. Let go of sorrow, pain, and melancholy. Let negative self-talk and complaining go. In Christ is life and light. He's ready to begin a new work in us. Come, Holy Spirit, have your way. Fall upon us today.
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