End of summer a time to reflect on bond with God
Fresh start. Clean slate. Second chance.
Whatever we might call it, most of us relish the promise of a new beginning.
I remember as a grade-schooler delighting in the new school year. No, I didn’t want to let go of summer vacation. But, like most kids in my neighborhood, autumn’s arrival marked an annual trip to the mall for new pants, new shoes, new school supplies. And with all of that came a fresh opportunity to do well in class.
There’s something about starting over that excites and motivates us.
I have no idea what God thinks of golf. But I have to believe he approves of the mulligan.
Golfers sometimes allow each other a mulligan – a crummy shot that is not counted against their score. It’s a do-over, no strings attached.
I often find myself in need of a spiritual mulligan. Or two. I need to move beyond past missteps and grasp a fresh resolve to really live out my faith in Christ. Can you relate to that?
Summer’s end is a great time to reflect on God’s gracious allowance of such a fresh start:
•Loving God. Let our fresh start begin with a resolve to grow closer to the God who has granted it. If we’ve neglected prayer and meditation upon the Scriptures and fellowship with his people, it’s no wonder we find ourselves lacking spiritual energy.
To have that spiritual vigor we so often crave requires attachment to its source: God himself.
Jesus explains it in terms of a vine and its branches: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4 – NKJV)
•Serving others. Notice that a vital connection to the vine is proved only one way in the life of the branch: it bears fruit. A branch that bears no fruit has no connection to the vine.
God has created you and me with talents and abilities so that we can use them for his glory and his purposes, not our own.
Grasping the fresh start God has given us involves a determination to be used by him. Like a golfer erasing his poor performance and determining to do better, we sometimes need to set aside selfishness and focus on others.
•Separating from sin. In almost any context, divorce is an awful thing. Marriage is sacred, profound, enduring.
Our relationship with God is very much a marriage, and to be married to him requires a divorce from worldliness. It is the one divorce that is always necessary.
Again, the simple image of a vine and its branches is helpful: “… every branch that bears fruit (God) prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2)
God loves us enough to slowly, but surely, remove those things in our lives that separate us from his best. He cuts away sin that drains us of our spiritual vitality. Our part in the process is to cooperate.
Jesus warns us against trying to live life for ourselves and for God at the same time. We cannot do both.
Belonging to Christ is an all-or-nothing proposition: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to him and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24 – NKJV)
Do you find yourself craving a clean slate, Christian friend?
Then why not run into the gracious arms of our God of second chances?