Summer is upon us. Every change of season brings with it expectation. We’re leaving some things behind while entering into something new. This June seems unique. Perhaps it’s due to the hope of normalcy returning, travel resuming, and embarking on the next chapter of life after the last year-plus of trudging through what seemed like an endless tunnel?
The questions rattling in my mind the last week or so are these:
Being aware of the transition, what does it look like to grow as a disciple of Jesus this summer? How can I pursue Him well given the above factors?
The answer rising up is this: Follow Christ with all five senses.
Too often, I make apprenticeship with our Lord a mere mental exercise. I need to think some things, believe some things, and tada! I’m good to go. This leads to a truncated faith, which is a shame as God has gifted each one of us as whole persons to seek Him with everything. Here’s how the grace of Jesus can interact with our senses through this season:
Touch - As the air warms, one thing Arizonan’s find refreshment in is WATER. In watering the garden, making some tea or lemonade, or visiting a swimming hole, there is a reminder that in the heat of the summer, refreshment is available. It reminds me of the promise of renewal given through repentance in Peter’s first sermon in the book of Acts:
“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. “ (Acts 3:19-21)
Taste - Stone fruit is here in abundance and usually on sale. Cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots—all gifts that remind us that God created taste buds. TASTE BUDS. They don’t have to exist, but they do and they remind us that our God is good and He wants us to enjoy His good creation.
“Taste and see that the Lord is Good, blessed is the one who trusts in Him!” (Psalm 34:8)
Even still, summer isn’t always abundant or refreshing. Drought and dry mouths remind us of our need for God.
“As a deer pants for water, so my soul thirsts for God.” (Psalm 42:1)
Sound - Birds greeting the day with their songs, jazz on the square on Tuesday nights, and, in our household, the sound of legos being raked-through with little fingers, hoping to build the next best creation on school-less days—these gifts meeting our ears can remind us not only that our God is good, but He is also speaking through His word and through stillness and silence if we will listen. I’m reminded of the need to carve out time to hear His voice amidst all the other noise. Hearing the sound of God keeps our hearts soft and our lives safe in the most sacred way.
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 3:7) “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:10-11)
Smell - Barbecue and sunscreen. Fresh cut grass and chlorine from a pool. The first scent of rain (today may be the day!). These fragrances can awaken our minds to simply praise the good God from whom all blessings flow and remind us that our lives give off an odor. In what ways are we giving off the aroma of Christ or of death?
“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16)
Sight - Arizona in summer is not always the prettiest thing to behold. Come August, we’ll all be wondering “When will Fall arrive?!” In this way, the sights of summer can build hope. As clouds begin to form, with the wondering and longing for Monsoons to green things up, refresh the creeks, fill the lakes, and put out the fires, we long for our Lord to return and make all things new. With John the Revelator, we cry out,
“Come Lord Jesus!”
Is it possible that Jesus is standing at the door and knocking through all these avenues in our lives? Will we be attentive to His voice, His guiding, His provision and His word through these aspects of our being?
Our God is so very good and is inviting us now to experience His grace through all facets and aspects of life.
Let’s follow Him with all five senses.