Keep your love of God green and growing

My last article was about Valentine’s Day in regard to maintaining our love for God by showing others his love for us all (John 3:16; 13:34-35). I also love the season of twitterpation that follows Valentine’s Day during the onset of spring. I’m not referring to the date of the spring equinox — March 20 — but rather the greening up as grasses start growing and trees sprout leaves.

I recall when I moved to Tucumcari from central Kentucky in December 1996 that I came from green to brown. I was depressed until about March 1, when I looked toward the city from work and saw the green cast of leaf buds on the elm trees. Perhaps, despite many of our elms having perished in recent years due to drought and age, we’ll see the greening again soon because that sight to my sore eyes always gives me great hope!

While we have the responsibility to tend the plants we use for our benefit, we cannot do anything about their divinely determined lifespan, and it’s God’s business to bring about the rain and changes in seasons and make things grow, again, for our benefit (1 Corinthians 3:6-8; Genesis 8:22).

We also have a divinely set lifespan during which time we can reach out to God and gain hope for eternal life and during which time we’re to serve him by helping his kingdom to grow (Psalm 90:10; 139:1, 13-16; Acts 17:24-28; John 8:34-38; 9:4; Matthew 9:35-38).

That’s the business of God for which Jesus came and the business we should be about to keep our love from growing cold to the point we become distressed throw in the towel (Luke 2:41-48, KJV; 19:10; 12:22-31; Matthew 24:4-14). The greening up of springtime reminds us about the work we must do for food, clothing and shelter as well as God’s harvest of souls.

That also helps us not become so distracted by the increase in wickedness (the depressing change from green to brown) and may even limit that increase in our own little part of the world, although we cannot prevent it because God said it would happen and knows it will, although he doesn’t cause it, as some claim (2 Timothy 3:1-5, 12-13; James 1:12-18).

Similarly, because God knows who will become a Christian doesn’t mean people have no choice in the matter, also as some claim (Joshua 24:14-15; John 7:16-17; Hebrews 11:24-26; James 4:4-10; 1 Peter 4:1-3).

In fact, since we have the choice, we also have the responsibility to choose to be about God’s business following Jesus unto the point of death through faith to not be distracted and to even potentially overcome some of the wickedness in our corner of the world (Luke 9:23-36, 62; 14:27; Revelation 2:10; 1 John 1:5-10; 2:1-6; 5:1-5).

Overcoming wickedness in our arena of life and revealing God’s love for others is the best way to keep our love for God from growing cold (1 Peter 4:8; James 5:20).

Leonard Lauriault is a member of the Church of Christ in Logan who writes about faith for the Quay County Sun. Contact him at [email protected].