The movement of the seasons from Spring to Summer is powerful! We see the world slowly open up as Spring begins. Trees bud, flowers bloom, grass (or weeds at my house) turns green, and the layer of thick, yellow pollen coats everything. Like all things seasonal, the buds on trees, early blooms on flowers, the light green color of early grass, and even the pollen go away. They yield to stiflingly hot days where everyone longs to camp out by a pool or relax on a beach.
Summer also signifies some other significant changes in our world. Kids of all ages make it through a year of school. Some love the opportunity to learn and act like sponges, soaking up every sight word, math concept, and social interaction. Others see school as a means to an end. Still others see it as a waste of time altogether. No matter your view of the educational process, we do learn some things that serve us well.
We begin to fill our minds and hearts with “tools” very early in our lives. We quickly learn that crying loudly enough gets us a diaper change or a bottle of formula. A slightly different cry causes parents and grandparents to scramble into helper or protector mode. At a later age, we learn that sharing, compassion, and kindness are the right way to treat people, and are used to gain us friends. Later on, we develop preferences that lead us toward certain people and away from others. Like the changing seasons, our taste in people seems to move from the excitement of a first Spring, where we welcome everyone, to the heat and oppression of Summer, where we want what we want, and nothing else.
My challenge to you today is to recapture the heart of a kindergartener. Jesus gives us the key to life in the gospel of Matthew 22:36-40. He says to “love God” with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. He then says that as a result of loving God, we are to love those around us. This Summer, let’s reintroduce the tools of sharing, compassion, and kindness into our daily lives. God loves us, and we are His ambassadors to this world, so let’s love others in a way that clearly leads people to Him through Jesus.
By Warren Green, Executive Pastor at Glen Haven Baptist Church