The concept of the Seasons appears in Scripture from at least two perspectives: firstly, it illustrates the two phases of life that continually follow one another, the first being for gathering or building, and the second for enjoying the harvest or withstanding the elements. Secondly, this concept represents the stages of building a structure, where each person, according to their skill, is called upon to intervene at a specific time, for a specific duration, and then pass the baton to their successor.
Responsible for a process, from start to finish
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes”
The Lord illustrates the precautions that those who truly aspire to follow Him must take: listening to and putting His Word into practice. Only this attitude will allow them to stand firm when the season of trials arrives. We note, as we meditate on this parable, that before any series of trials in our lives as disciples of Christ, the Lord will always grant us a period of calm; not so that we may be idle, but so that we may absorb His Word, be filled with it, and strive to put it into practice through the various (and easily digestible) opportunities He places in our path. Indeed, if we miss this period of preparation, it is almost certain that when the trials come, we will fail miserably.
May Your Warning, O Lord Jesus Christ, not fall on deaf ears. Yes, we call upon You; grant us to put this Teaching into practice.
It is worth noting that this universal principle of abundance before scarcity also appears in the Old Covenant at least twice:
- 7years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine (Genesis 41)
A global famine lasting seven long years was about to strike the entire Earth; but it would be preceded by seven years of abundance. Only Pharaoh was warned, through a dream whose meaning Joseph revealed to him. This king wisely allowed Joseph himself to implement the advice he gave, so that the country could survive during these difficult times.
Yes, my brother, both collectively and individually, God will very often allow times of scarcity to be preceded by times of abundance. However, our salvation will depend on our ability to use times of abundance to prepare for times of scarcity: this is the Wisdom with which God has endowed even animals, as if to provoke our envy, to force us to awaken from all forms of laziness.
- Summer before the harvest: The ant knows how to make good use of each season (Proverbs 6:6-8)
“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.”
Through this Wisdom drawn from the book of Proverbs, the Lord shows us that if the people of Egypt were saved by the Wisdom of their king and prime minister, on an individual level, without needing the help of an authority, we too can manifest divine Wisdom on certain issues at our own level.
Note that we are not here to despise all forms of authority, but rather to point out that there are various levels of manifestation of this divine Wisdom: the collective level and the individual level; depending on the issues, the contexts and the areas of application.
There are seasons that concern your nation, your local church, and so on, and for which you should pray for those in authority so that divine wisdom may be manifested in their decision-making; but there are also seasons that concern your home, your house congregation, and for which your involvement would be more direct.
Yes, as you have understood, this divine Wisdom applies to the building up of our individual faith, to that of our Church, but it also applies to so-called social and economic issues, both individually and collectively.
Training before Service
Before concluding this first part of our meditation, we would like to highlight one last area of application of this fabulous teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ: that of training, discipleship, mentoring, ... before Service.
While the Lord Jesus Christ was imparting this teaching and many others, his disciples and other interlocutors were not facing trials; they were in a season of calm, a phase of learning. They were in a period set aside to allow them to be taught and trained in the life of disciples.
Later, we will note, with regard to the twelve, that they were exempt even from fasting during their time of training with the Lord, due to the very nature of their Trainer: Christ Jesus (an exclusive privilege that the other disciples and interlocutors of the Lord did not have [Matthew 9:14-17]). Throughout this entire period, regardless of their level of spiritual growth, the quality of their prayer life, etc., the Lord ensured their spiritual security, provision, and physical protection.
But from the moment of Judas' betrayal, the disciples would have to put into practice everything they had learned, beginning with the commandment not to betray the Lord. Sadly, they all failed. But glory be to God in Christ Jesus, we find them all full of faith and zeal for the Lord after the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Yes, my brothers and sisters, through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we are now equipped to faithfully follow and obey the Holy Spirit as He reveals the teachings of Christ to us in various ways, using them to root our faith in Christ the Rock. This allows us to stand firm when the season of trials comes.
O Lord God Almighty, through Your precious Holy Spirit, received in Christ Jesus, we beseech You to lead us victoriously through each season of our lives. May we consistently make the most of the summer seasons, the seasons of abundance, the seasons of calm, the seasons of our formation, so that You may mold Christ within us.
Therefore, when times of trial, times of scarcity, and storms come, may we already be sufficiently equipped to face them victoriously. O Most Holy God, by Your Grace strengthen our will to remain submissive to Your Holy Spirit, to Christ our Lord, we pray
Amen!
Add comment