Seasonal Lessons

Happy Spring to you!  Have you noticed that we have more daylight than the short days of January?  Have you heard some birds chirping?  Have you seen trees budding and flowers poking up from the ground? Have you had the opportunity to take a walk outside and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine? 

I like Spring!  I appreciate how Winter gets swallowed up in sunshine, warmer weather, singing birds, fragrant flowers, longer days and pervasive resurrection.  Spring is a great time to reflect on the conclusion of Winter and the springboard for Summer.  But no matter the season, we can look at Jesus’ life in a seasonal context to recognize and apply some important lessons for our daily living. 

To begin, it can be helpful to look at the various adversities that Jesus faced and consider these struggles as His Winter season.  Such adversities could include:  being misunderstood for His essential purpose on earth, religious opposition, rejection, Gethsemane and His crucifixion.  I think of these experiences for Jesus as His Winter encounters because they were times when He experienced the “cold shoulder”, resistance to life with harsh conditions and conversations.  In Jesus’ Winter experiences, He remained steady and faithful in His dependence on His Heavenly Father.  

In the Fall season, Jesus had a combination of abundant harvests and “bright” conclusions.  I would suggest that this was the season when Jesus’ life was at the pivot point between the high point of His earthly ministry and the plunge into His arrest, conviction and crucifixion.  Similar to our Autumn with the vibrant colors of changing leaves, this season for Jesus was celebrated with His triumphant entry to Jerusalem and could include His miraculous resurrection of Lazarus.  At the same time, this was also when His death became the top priority of the Jewish leaders.  In the Autumn season for Jesus, we see Him prioritize His earthly relationships, having very intimate meals and conversations at Martha & Mary’s house in John 12 and at the Last Supper with His closest disciples. 

As for Jesus’ Summer season, I would suggest that these were the days and times when Jesus walked about in bright daylight, healing, teaching, delivering, providing and doing kingdom living in a human context.  In this season, Jesus probably enjoyed the pleasures of seeing people experience divine participation in daily living such that the blind were given sight, lepers cleansed, deaf and mute could hear and speak, multiplied provisions for food and wine, along with heaps more.  Jesus’ teachings in this season included the Sermon on the Mount and most of His parables.  I’d propose that Jesus combined the miraculous with His teachings, ensuring that both actions were equally important. 

I have saved Jesus’ Spring season for our last consideration because that’s the season in which we currently find ourselves.  It’s a time of closing out Winter and launching vibrant life.  I would suggest that in Jesus’ life, this was the time when He concluded His forty days of fasting and right after the devil tempted Him in Matthew 4.  This was the launch for His earthly ministry.  I think that Spring season for Jesus was also launched on His resurrection from the dead, Easter Sunday.  This is when Jesus threw off the grave clothes, miraculously appeared to His disciples and gave them marching orders to launch His church.  I’d suggest that Spring is the time for activity, light and the infusion of divine life!

In all of the seasons of life, we can look at Jesus’ life to help us employ important lessons as we see Jesus as our essential role model.  Let’s remember some key lessons:

·         In Winter, just like Jesus did, let’s remain steady and faithful as we depend on our Heavenly Father.

·         In Autumn, based on Jesus’ actions, let’s be certain to prioritize our relationships so that they can be resilient for any Winter experiences.

·         In Summer, it’s helpful to remember that both Jesus’ miracles and teachings were the backbone values for this season.

·         For Spring, let’s revel in resurrection, life, truth and life!

In all seasons of life, we can learn from Jesus and continually grow!