It’s Fall, Ya’ll
It seems more than ever we have a cultural infatuation with the season of fall. The very moment we see a leaf turn red or the fall chill freezes the summer breeze causing us to grab our sweaters and coats, our lives and houses erupt with a pumpkin aroma that warms our very soul. Do not get me wrong. I too appreciate this season as it brings rich smells and a new palate of color that bursts in the fall morning. It is a welcomed change of pace and a view that draws our attention to celebrations and family. No matter what you celebrate during the fall or how you view this season, it also heightens our expectation for what is coming, post this season. Whether you are a traditionalist that holds the looming Christmas wave at bay or (you have no decency and respect for the beauty of fall, and all that it brings) at the moment the first leaf falls you have broken out the Christmas decorations, we can all agree that fall brings the much-anticipated holiday season. No matter what stance, the leaves, colors, and the decorations, all alert our senses to the upcoming season, preparing us for the change.
We get excited for this moment and are quick to get ready for the coming season. Work is done to pull out the boots, scarves, hoodies, and even the pumpkins so that we are ready. Anticipation grows while we wait for our favorite fall drink or dessert and probably spend way more time in the kitchen than we ever do. Priority is given to preparing and tending to our fallen leaves as we joyfully declare, “It’s Fall, Ya’ll!”
While we work through this season of Hope Point’s life, I continue to ponder the work and mission of the church. A dissonance continues to ring between Jesus and the work of the Kingdom and what I am seeing in the world today. Jesus spent every moment driven by the work of the Kingdom, which is bringing redemption to the world He created. The disciples took over and they maintained that course of mission by teaching, healing, and taking care of each other. There wasn’t an adapted plan or treating Jesus’ words and commands as “empowering encouragement” - it was a literally doing the same thing they saw Jesus doing. We see and hear how Jesus reacts to their divergency to his plan and mission in Revelation - five churches that wanted to draw the focus on themselves, adapt the plans or even discard it all together. Jesus knew the temptations to adapt or alter the Father’s plan all for the sake of success, money, or power, and that is why he said, “Blessed is he who overcomes.”
To overcome is to not fall prey to the temptations of apathetic Christianity that quiets the King’s command to “Go and make disciples” and lulls us to sleep. The Church has been under attack from the day she was born. Revelation 12 describes the enemy’s pursuit and attempt to deceive and distract us from our role in the God’s redemption plan. Ultimately, to overcome is to hold fast to the Gospel and be driven with the same tenacity for the Kingdom advancement as Jesus himself as he was tempted as well. While it also stirs that deeper longing to see the King return, there is an urgency and a passion for the broken world’s chance to be redeemed.
Look around. There are many signs alerting us to the broken and hurting world’s need for redemption. Signs that not only cling for a chance to see shalom but begin to burst the night’s hold with the waking dawn’s arrival of a King. The cold crisp air not only stiffens our lungs as we breathe in the onset of fall’s arrival, but it should be waking our slumbered faith to take action. We see houses and store fronts explode like a seasonal projectile drenching the world of autumn and pumpkin spice, but we quietly try to maintain our religious order. What if we became just as excited with the Kingdom mission as we did our pumpkin spice lattes? The greater season is upon us. It’s time to stop daydreaming in our summer haze and take action and do all we can to be a part of Jesus’ prayer, “Thy Kingdom come, on EARTH as it is in heaven.” Yes, it’s fall ya’ll, but it is also time to stop messing around and overcome.
