The Season is Now

 “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…” This opening in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, debatably, captures one of the best introductions of all time.

Let’s look at this concept in a Biblical manner. The sentiment “of seasons” rings true for the Christian as well – in a season of darkness, there remains a season of Light! In a season of despair, there remains a season of Hope. In a season of grief, there continues a season of Comfort. The Bible teaches us in Ecclesiastes Chapter 3:

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

² A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

⁵ A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶ A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

⁷ A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

⁸ A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace

I believe we are living in a time of unmatched opportunity. We Christians are born for such a time as this. But I also accept as true that the door of prospect is open for a period of time known only to the Father. Christians KNOW the day and the hour of our Lord’s return is unknown to all except to Him! But, the reality is that things are moving swiftly toward the biggest event that we as Believers all look for, the promised return of Jesus to rule and reign in His Kingdom on earth.

I probably don’t need to convince you that there is another kingdom opposing our heavenly kingdom. The evil one has an adversary for every situation in the life of the Christian! I implore you to press on Christian soldier! Continue to fight the good fight.

One television Christian minister said, "Our nation is heading in an erroneous direction because righteousness fails to rule in the hearts of her people, Christians and non-Christians alike.   In my opinion our nation has entered a season of winter – largely because there is a falling away from God."  Many people, good people, have absolutely zero interest in hearing about our Savior. It is widely understood that church attendance has widely declined; the line between living a consecrated life and an unrighteous life has blurred; many luke-warm Christians occupy our church pews, barely taking time to listen to the pastor. The majority prefer a sermonette compared to a sermon.  Personal convictions are lessening - or seem to be at least. Christians are often afraid to stand up for Biblical principles for fear of retribution. As Ecclesiastes says in verse 7 – there is a time to speak, fellow Christian! “A time to build up,” says verse 3.

Life Moment: Quite often people assign their reason for “no church attendance” as they’ve been hurt or disappointed by someone in “the church.” We must be mindful that our actions have an immediate impact on others! No church is perfect, but there are many great churches across our nation. As you’ve probably heard, if church was perfect YOU wouldn’t be in it!  It may not be fair that we have to accept blame for something someone else has done, but it remains true that as Christians, we should live our lives above reproach so that in our season of living, others can see our love for Him. Be friendly. Be honest. Don’t stir up trouble. Try to refrain from criticizing. Most of all, don’t fake your spiritual walk with God. Who you really are will be revealed when you least expect it.

A few weeks ago I invited a new acquaintance to attend church with me. The lady went on to tell me every problem, difficult situation, hurt feeling, bruised ego, and unfair thing she had ever witnessed during her early years of church attendance.  First of all, let’s get our eyes on HIM, and off of our fellow body of Believers! She is holding on to things from years ago – decades even.  She refuses to attend church now because her husband refuses to attend. I don’t understand that line of thinking. Wouldn’t our concern for our husband’s soul outweigh our lingering concern for our own hurt feelings? Where else can we go but to the Lord, for our hurt feelings; our sorrow. Where do we go to cast our burdens? To Him.  I’m not trying to sound harsh here, but if I quit every time I had a hurt feeling, well, I simply wouldn’t make it. We teach our children to get back up, get back into the game, shake off the pain, and dig deep! So shouldn’t we apply this sense of tenacity to our church attendance? To serving Him? To following Him in good times and in bad?

It’s time to assess ourselves and understand what season we’re in. Is it time to heal? Is it time to sew? Time to laugh? Let’s resolve our way of thinking about “religion” and embrace a season of HIM. His season never ends. His light is the ONLY light to a lost and dying world. His season is the only cure for the soul, whatever and whosoever.  

As Yogi Berra said “It ain’t over till it’s over.” I don’t think God has not given up on us as a nation; however, Christians have a work to do! The season is now.

Look UP my friends!