As the calendar turns towards Fall and we reflect on summertime, summertime reflects on nature and God’s creation. In most of the Northern hemisphere, summer is a time of plenty. The promise of spring has been fulfilled. It is truly a time of God’s creation “showing off” with the sheer abundance of new life and growth. This joyous explosion of re-birth is an optimistic affirmation of resurrection and renewal. 

It is fitting that Easter Sunday, the death and resurrection of Christ, always arrives with springtime. The dead of winter gives way to spring and the rich fulfillment of summer. It is a perfect metaphor for Christians and a timely reminder of the love and sacrifice of our Savior. We are redeemed. 

God gave us this earth.

He invited us to share in its bounty and cherish its rich resources. That’s the tricky part: we must share this magnificent gift among all our brothers and sisters, now and in the future. There are many people for whom that promise has not been fulfilled. They need us to share in this plenty because there is plenty enough for all.

We also find ourselves at a crossroads. Our planet needs our help too, our most unified and sustained commitment to heal it. It is tempting to say, “God will save us.”

He already did. 

We are not children in the nursery who have broken their toys and cry for daddy to fix it. We are a people who have been careless in our treatment of the land and profligate in our use of its resources. But we are also a people with many abilities and talents, (By the grace of God). We can honor the magnificent gift of this earth that our Father has created for us, and begin to heal it for the inheritance of our children and our children’s children.

Then, when we sit on our patios and porches, enjoying the sunny warmth of a lazy day in August, we won’t have to tell our grandchildren of the way it used to be when we were small. They will be able to enjoy this earth, play in its waters, run through its meadows, and hike its towering forests.

Let us make of our effort a prayer of thanksgiving, a paean to our creator.

Let us sing a song of summer, as Psalm 118:

“This is a day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”