Although we still have another week to go until summer officially ends,
growing up Labor Day meant the end of summer, and the beginning of fall, and the
school year. On our street many summer nights were spent sleeping out in each
others tents, spending our 15 cents on candy to get us through the night,
filling our canteens with water from the hose, and grabbing a comic book or two,
that never got read. It was Joey’s big four man tent you could stand in, as
opposed to the pup tent with no floor we started out in. We graduated up to a
tent with a floor and screens, but Joey’s was deluxe, with even a Coleman
lantern to keep us lit up late at night. A big deal for me sleeping with the
older guys, all of three years older, but teenagers. It was during these sleep
outs that we would discuss important subjects such as who would you pick, Betty
or Veronica? Was the new Schwinn Varsity 10 speed worth $66.95? The big guys
talked of learning to shave, Beatle haircuts and which after shave had the best
aroma. What new TV shows would soon be on, we were tired of reruns, how that
would change in later years, and did anyone notice the new girl Judy-WOW! It
was times like this that went far into the night many times, trying to stay up
all night, but never quite making it. But the last sleep out of summer meant
that summer was coming to an end, somehow it didn’t work with a school schedule,
football games on weekends, and the nights getting longer and colder, the days
shorter and cooler. That last night was going to have to last all through the
next school year, with each year learning the next would be different as we were
all growing older, just not up. Girls and soon cars would occupy our
conversations, but nothing would ever beat those summer nights, out of the house
and on our own, sleeping in Joey’s backyard. Looking back it was more fun being
a kid than looking forward to becoming a grownup. I wonder, do kids today still
wonder who they would choose, Betty or Veronica? Do they even know who they
are? Schwinn went out of business years ago, and 15 cents no longer buys three
candy bars. The stories of back then seem made up to our kids and grandkids
today....what marks the end of their summer?
The transition to becoming a Christian can be a tough one. Suddenly faced
with a new set of rules to live by, a new set of friends to share them with, and
a past you have to lave behind. It is an exciting time, learning about Jesus,
seeing the Bible come alive, and having our minds regenerated. We are justified
by faith, but not sure of what it means, our hearts are changing, but our minds
seem to be slow adapting. The temptations of the old life loom larger, things
we enjoyed now we see as sin, and it seems other believers are quick to advise
us how to live. Pointing out our sin, while neglecting their own. Scripture
calls it being unable to see the log in your own eye while trying to remove a
splinter from another. We all mean well, but it doesn’t always come out that
way. But when something ends, with God it means a new beginning, and walking
with him is exciting. It goes far beyond the laws and rules of denominations,
of the thou shalt not religion, it is based on freedom in the spirit. Or as it
was so aptly put, the only way to not break any laws is to have no laws. We
find that Abraham was a friend with God long before the law, and we can long
after the law. God calls it grace, which cannot be earned as it is a gift from
him when saved. But when we accept the peace he gives, and grow in his grace,
we look ahead instead of behind.
Yet today I meet Christian men, some who have been so for many years, still
clinging to their old lives. Their summer of sin has ended, but they don’t
embrace God in the new season he has given them. Puffed up with knowledge, they
carry on behind closed doors, the double minded man James refers to, one life at
church, another at work, and still another at home. Even for us older fast
guys, it is difficult to be three places at once! They neglect that the spirit
has given them a new birth, they are new creatures, and the old one has passed
away. They are the ones going back for one last summer sleep out, thinking it
will be just as it was, but finding it never can be. With some even lying to
themselves about how great the reunion was....but miserable inside. Ever go
through this, the way back is not more study, more prayer, or even more church.
We need to stop and go back to when we first met Jesus, when his peace filled us
and we were excited about him. Go back and remember the things God has promised
and expect him to be faithful, when we aren’t. Remember how we all once vowed
we would never sin again, then did, and over and over again making excuses, but
feeling miserable? All the time looking at ourselves, failing to remember that
it is not based on us, but on Jesus. This where justification comes in, and we
let God be God, my standing with God does not depend on me, but on him, and
somehow he does it. Love truly covers a multitude of sins, and we can live in
freedom with Jesus. Maybe a daily occurrence for some, sin will always be
available, but so will the spirit to guide us, comfort us, and provide for us.
Just like the last sleep out of summer, we have a new season ahead of us, where
the older guys go to junior high, and we go to fifth grade. Where the horror
stories of changing classes, multiple teachers and dressing for gym scare us,
but when we look at who has gone ahead, we can have faith to also. In Christ we
have a reason to look ahead, and we aren’t alone. For he who saved us will
never abandon us, nor forsake us for another. If only my old sleep over friends
were so accommodating. Justification sounds like so much work, yet it is all
about Jesus doing it in us, we cannot do it ourselves.
Paul reminds us that we are not to think like kids anymore, since we are to
grow in God’s grace. We are to put off childish thoughts, and I agree. But for
one last night before I get too old, I would like to pitch a tent in the
backyard, maybe on Labor Day, and invite a few friends over for the night.
Remember childhoods, but focus on Jesus. I’m sure the talk will be different,
but one question will remain, Betty or Veronica? Summer sleep outs don’t answer
all the questions, they just prolong the answers. No matter our age, there will
always be a bit of Archie in us, I wonder what stories he tells his grandkids?
Oh for just one more night in the tent....
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com