Seasons

Four times a year, we experience a transition from one environmental condition to another.  We call these conditions "seasons."

Seasons are determined by the earth's distance to the sun.  That is, the weather conditions that we experience are due to our planet's relationship to the sun.  Obviously, this is an important relationship.

As Christians, we too are affected by an important relationship.  Hebrews 12:5-6 says,

"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him.  For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives."

In the Christian life, it is not uncommon to face hardships.  Thankfully, the Bible tells us that, as Christians, these hardships have meaning.  As the author of Hebrews has written, we should not "regard lightly" or "faint from" the discipline of the Lord.  "God deals with [us] as with sons" (Heb. 12:7).

Like the earth that is affected by its relationship to the sun, so is the Christian who is affected by his relationship to the Son.  The seasons in our life is God's way of dealing with His children to teach us a lesson; "It is for discipline that [we] endure" (Heb. 12:7).

Because of Jesus Christ, we can endure these storms and know that it can make us "perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:4).