Summer Weeding

By Paul Gilbert

One of the things that I look forward to doing every summer is to take some spiritual inventory of my life. The school year can be so full and packed that I kind of feel like I am being carried away down a whitewater river, sans paddle and boat. As such, it’s hard to find the time to meaningfully reflect and think about my life: I’m too busy trying to stay afloat! The summer, however, gives me a chance to catch my breath and to start to ask myself some questions: how am I doing spiritually? Where have the “weeds” started to take over the crop of fruit that God is wanting to grow in my life? What about my spiritual disciplines – where have I grown lazy and passive? There are a hundred questions like these we need to be asking, and the summer season is a prime time to do so.

As we continue our trek through the Gospel of John, Jesus gets us to reflect on the most foundational and important spiritual-inventory questions of all: “Is my faith real? Is it genuine?” Jesus raises these questions not because He wants to scare us, but because of how much He loves us. John tells us that Jesus came to save us by laying his life down for us, his sheep. Yet, for us to be saved, this means that we must recognize Jesus as our shepherd, trusting in Him and Him alone for our salvation.

Hope to see you Sunday as we take some spiritual inventory by looking at the nature of biblical faith in John 2: 23-25.