It is the month of June. Summer is finally here. I remember the last day of school. We skipped all the way home singing the old rhyme, “Schools out, schools out, teacher let the monkeys out”. No more homework, no more school bells, no more exams, no more reports, no more school. Well it is different today with year round classes, on tract and off tract sessions and summer school.
Summer always is associated with pleasure times, long days to enjoy fun and some release of monotonous responsibilities. Vacations are planned most often in the summer. Who cannot feel the freedom of Nat King Cole’s old classic hit, “Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, those days of soda and pretzels and beer” oops! I’m sure he meant Pepsi. There has never been a more laid-back summer feel than the Broadway smash hit of Porgy and Bess when they sing, “Summer time and the livin is easy, fish are jumpin and the cotton is high”. For me the height of summer love is that beautiful San Bernardino summer evening at the baseball park, “buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks and I don’t care if I ever get back”.
I trust you have a memory-making summer. Enjoy the cookouts and long evenings. Chase some firefly after sundown, enjoy the beach and pool, get a good tan and take time for a great vacation. But being the watchman of your soul I also must warn you to be on guard for some summer dangers.
Proverb 6:8 says, “Go to the ant you sluggard, consider her ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in the summer and gathers its food at harvest.” The idea is people will be too busy enjoying the fun of summer to be concerned about the health of the church and their own spiritual progress in the summer.
My prayer is that in the summer of 2009 we will change all the words: let it now be sung,
Summer time and the livin is holy The spirit’s movin’ and church attendance is high.
Or
Roll out those praising, healing, shouting days of summer
Those days of worship and loving and cheer
Or
Give me some worship and lots of praise.
This is the best way to spend summer days.
Let this summer be made even more wonderful by your faithfulness to God and His faithfulness to you.
