A Message from Pastor Ron

"A THEOLOGY OF SUMMER"
By Rev. Ron Mahler

Ahh...warm winds and hot sunny days!!!! Summer is upon us. It is a time of year that God had planned in eternity before the foundations of the earth were made. Have you ever wondered how important summer is to our understanding of the life God has given us to live and appreciate? Have you ever wondered how important summertime is in terms of understanding God’s Word, and all that expresses His character and will? Well, whether you have or not, consider the following: summer allows us to see the goodness of God’s provisions in our lives. There is nothing that waters the mouth more than beholding a basket of fresh fruit and vegetables. We can appreciate their size, shape and various colours. And to think, that they all began with a divinely generated single-seed! Gen 1:11. Summer also brings us weddings and helps us to relive the memories of our own vows, and the promises we made to our spouses and God. Here, we can jump fruits and veggies - to being "fruitful" and to "multiplying!" We may catch glimpses of wedding parties all over the place: in parks, flowing out of churches, by lakes and in and around banquet halls. And we can appreciate a beautiful summer day even more, on account of the special day that is for the bride and groom. Summer, too, gives us time to reflect. Our holidays take us away from the demands of our jobs and the stresses of life a bit more. At least they should! It gives us a breather. Jesus told His disciples to "come apart" with Him, to rest and get refreshed. We are a people who need to come apart, because our lifestyles in this face-paced, gotta-get-ahead world often leave us on the verge of "falling apart." Holidays should be used to recharge our spiritual batteries and to relieve ourselves of stress, but not to relieve ourselves of God! Proverbs says "he who refreshes others, will himself, be refreshed." Then there’s the fact that summer lends to helping our bodies and environment become healthier. The Bible states that our bodies are the "temples of the Holy Spirit". God’s Holy Spirit resides in us, when we commit to Him in a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. And one of the ways in which we can honour God with our bodies, is not only by keeping them pure and holy, but by taking care of them. Summer gives us that opportunity to exercise more, by bike-riding, swimming or jogging. The warm summer months also help us to conserve our earth’s valuable, energy resources. It is lighter out longer, and so we don’t need as much lights on, and it is warmer so we can save on heating resources as well. God wants us to be good stewards of this earth, and He has given us the environmental benefits of summertime to help! Summer does even more for us in terms of our church ministries. It allows us to get out from behind the walls of our churches, by having BBQ’s, holding kid’s camps, outreach programs, outdoor concerts, and gets us into the streets of our community more - where we can interact with people. I think summer gives us a glimpse of the beauty and wonder of Heaven as well. If you have ever glanced over the Canadian countryside as you travel by train or bus – you may have by chance, taken hold of deep-blue skies where they meet lush green trees and ash coloured mountains, on top of a crisp blue rushing river, and thought, "I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life!" Just remember at that point, the greatest artist never to have one of his originals appear in an art gallery, has His work displayed the world over! If we think the incredible sight of summer is great, we haven’t seen anything yet! The Bible says "no one has seen or heard what God has prepared for those who love Him" in Heaven! Finally, summer reminds us of renewed life and the resurrection. All we have to do is look at how flowers bloom, and how perennials know just when to come out of the ground – how trees have buds that just naturally open up in the spring, give birth to leaves and become full grown in the summer (in the same slots where they died and fell to the ground in the autumn), all we have to do is witness these miracles --- to see the majestic plan of God for our lives. You see, all sources of life, anywhere, and at anytime time in the world’s existence, had their origin from God. God, Himself, is life. And we need Him in our lives in order to truly live and be alive for all eternity. The Bible says that what God made in creation will pass away, but His "Word", will "last forever". And it is by His Word that He promises to raise our bodies up "on the last day." We see that God is capable of this time and time again, from the beauty of His creation in the summer.

Have a safe, fun and happy summer - with the Lord.