I'm thinking that August may be, after all, a pretty decent month. A few weeks ago, I was out with a friend talking about transition times, how it takes us a while to move from one thing to another. I was lamenting that August seemed like the twilight zone, hanging somewhere between here and there. July, that quintessential summer month, full of lazy afternoons, picnics, fireflies and fireworks, is over. September, with all of the energy of a new school year, the possibilities of what could be, is just around the corner.
But then Dan came home with a boatload of vegetables - tomatoes, corn, beans, zucchini, cucumbers. I bopped down to the local orchard and picked some blueberries and bought a peck of orchard-fresh peaches. Suddenly our kitchen was full of the bounty of harvest. I had an epiphany; August is the month to enjoy the fruit of the summer!
Are there times in our lives when we can enjoy the fruit of our labors? Perhaps more accurately, can we enjoy what the Spirit has produced in our lives? If we are serious about partnering with God, in becoming the person He is calling us to be, it should not surprise us that our live begin to look like well-stocked roadside stands.
I've been struck lately while reading 1 Peter that there is a joy he expects us to have as we anticipate Christ being revealed in us. Recently, as I've been reading a book about sanctification, I'm starting to ponder whether we haven't set our sights too low - pushing off our anticipation of fruit-filled lives til old age, or maybe in heaven. There have been those in the Christian community, who believe that God can fill our lives now with fruit, with his abundant love and all that comes with it. I want to explore that in the next few posts - while I'm relishing a refrigerator crammed with August goodness.
But then Dan came home with a boatload of vegetables - tomatoes, corn, beans, zucchini, cucumbers. I bopped down to the local orchard and picked some blueberries and bought a peck of orchard-fresh peaches. Suddenly our kitchen was full of the bounty of harvest. I had an epiphany; August is the month to enjoy the fruit of the summer!
Are there times in our lives when we can enjoy the fruit of our labors? Perhaps more accurately, can we enjoy what the Spirit has produced in our lives? If we are serious about partnering with God, in becoming the person He is calling us to be, it should not surprise us that our live begin to look like well-stocked roadside stands.
I've been struck lately while reading 1 Peter that there is a joy he expects us to have as we anticipate Christ being revealed in us. Recently, as I've been reading a book about sanctification, I'm starting to ponder whether we haven't set our sights too low - pushing off our anticipation of fruit-filled lives til old age, or maybe in heaven. There have been those in the Christian community, who believe that God can fill our lives now with fruit, with his abundant love and all that comes with it. I want to explore that in the next few posts - while I'm relishing a refrigerator crammed with August goodness.
