4.24.26

Dear Grace Family,

I was sitting on my porch last night, looking at the tree covering our yard. In spite of the tough winter, the leaves bloomed again. The buds which started emerging a few weeks ago are now providing shade for our yard because (shockingly) there is still a sun in Cleveland as well! Aren’t you glad for the changing of seasons? 

The book of Ecclesiastes takes us on a fascinating journey through deep truths about God and the world. It identifies some realities about the pointlessness of spending energy in the wrong places, and also about the hope that is found in God when we realize our true purpose is in Him. 

One of the most famous passages in that book of the Bible is in Chapter 3 when the writer talks about a “season” for everything–life and death, grief and joy, silence and speaking and even planting and harvesting. We’ve been thinking about these truths recently. There is a time, I would argue every week, that God has given for us to rest, reflect and receive from Him. And, like we heard last Sunday, a time to work and invest our lives in what matters.

He is our source of these rhythms and joy. He is also the one who helps us navigate every “season” of our lives. Because…. beyond the rhythms of our week, we also journey through different times of life—pain and celebration, despair and hope, confusion and confidence. The invitation of God, in our humanity, is to find Him in all of it. I know some of you are in a painful season because of relationships in your life. Some have recently lost a loved one. Some are celebrating (and maybe also grieving) a soon-to-be graduating Senior in high school. In all of these seasons, we are invited to see that God is the center of our existence and also the hope for all of it. And, in one way or another, the tree will bloom again. 

This is what it means to be human. We worship our God who gives us breath in our lungs. We receive hope from Him. And we turn to Him when it doesn’t all feel so good around us. So, no matter how things are going this week, may we not try to solve our pain apart from Him or feel like we’re “winning” and take the credit and forget Him. May we embrace our true humanity and find ourselves in Him and let His life flow through us. 

I cannot wait to open the word of God with you on Sunday. I’m going to preach about our created purpose of worship and we’ll have a chance to do just that together. Don’t miss it. 

Another human on the journey with you,

Pastor Tim