Summer acts as a preview

28th July 2019

Rev Matthew Price
Vicar, St Mary Magdalene Church, Gorleston


 
As I write, we have been sweltering under record temperatures. For some of us it may have felt like it was too much to bear. But the summer can be a wonderful time. For many, summer will mean holidays, visits from families, and time off from school and work. It can be a refreshing time
 

 
This week I read something which described summer as a foretaste of heaven. The author described the summer as “God’s messenger with a sun-soaked, tree-green, flower-blooming, lake-glistening letter of love to show us what he is planning for us in the age to come”
 
But our danger is that treat the summer as a substitute for heaven, rather than a preview. If the postman brings us a love letter from our fiancé, we don’t fall in love with the postman!
 
For, it is Jesus who is the refreshing centre of the summer, just as he will be the centre of heaven. And he invites us this summer: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). This is serious summer refreshment
 
All we need to do is come to him. The rest is in his hands
 
So, however we feel as we embark on the summer months, let’s come to Jesus and be refreshed by him. For Jesus gives himself to us in proportion to how much we want his refreshment. “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13)
 
And let’s take the opportunity to reflect on the reality of the hope of heaven for which the summer acts as a preview and may that spur on us to live for Jesus now!
 

image courtesy of https://pixabay.com

The views carried here are those of the author, not of Network Yarmouth, and are intended to stimulate constructive and good-natured debate between website users

Click here to read our forum and comment posting guidelines