In just a few short days/weeks summer will be fully upon us. School will be out. The sun will be out. And for many of us, our minds will be out. Since schools started summer vacation, we have been trained to treat the summer as a time to kick back and relax. We do the least we can until fall shows up and we try to jump back up to speed.
While, yes, rest is important—and we should probably all do better about how we maintain it throughout the year—I am begging you to not forget that the ministry of Restore and the ministry of the church at large still needs people to show up during the summer. Kids need teachers. Worship needs musicians. And our bills still need to get paid through the offering.
One Christian leader described the importance of showing up during the summer this way. “It's summer. Pastors can be on vacation. Volunteers are on vacation. Teams are lean. Attention is scattered. Energy is low.
SOMEONE WHO NEEDS HOPE IS SHOWING UP THIS WEEKEND AND DOESN'T KNOW OR CARE ABOUT ANY OF THIS! Make sure everything we do this week still tells them we care, they matter, and Jesus Loves them. No matter what!”
1 Peter 1:3-5 tells us,
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
It's easy to disappear this time of year, but I hope you will find a way to show up. For God. For yourself. For the people who are starving for hope. No matter what!