Summertime Faith

So, we’re kind of in the middle of summer now.  We relax a little bit in the summertime.  It feels like life slows down a little bit.  The life of the church slows down a little bit, too.  We don’t have a lot of our activities.  Sunday school and Faith Builders take a break for the summer.  Youth groups do, too.  So does the church choir.  Things just take on a little slower pace in the summer.

That’s okay.  We all need to have a little bit of a break once in a while.  The thing is, though, that we’re not allowed to take a break from being a Christian.  We’re not allowed to take a break from our faith.  Our lives need to be just as dedicated to Christ in the summer as they are at other times of the year. 

I don’t see anything in the Bible that says we get to take a summer vacation from doing the things Jesus told us to do.  That includes loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind.  It includes loving our neighbor as ourselves.  It includes going and making disciples of Jesus Christ.  None of those things changes just because it’s summer.

So how do we stay dedicated to Christ?  Well, some of the answers are obvious.  Keep praying.  Keep reading the Bible.  Keep attending worship services.  If you’re out of town, attend a worship service where you are.  Do what you can to stay close to God.

But when we pray, I think we need to pray in a specific way.  Pray that God will help you stay alert.  Pray that God will help you keep your eyes open.  Pray that God will help you see the chances God gives you to show love to God and love to others.  Pray that God will help you see the chances God gives you to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

It’s easy enough to miss those chances under the best conditions.  I know--I do it all the time.  But it’s even easier to miss them when we relax.  We can just kind of put our minds on cruise control and not see the people around us.  We can totally miss times when people need us, when they’re reaching out to us for help.  We don’t mean to do it.  We just aren’t paying attention.  And so we miss chances to serve God and to change people’s lives.

So don’t let summer lull you into missing those chances!  Relax, but still pay attention.  God puts all kinds of chances to serve in front of us every day.  Let’s see those chances, and let’s make the most of them.  Let’s be just as dedicated to the Lord in the summer as we are the rest of the year.