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Good Morning, Saints, and Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ!
I love the autumn season, although most would refer to it as fall. Autumn is a period defined between August and November. A time when we seek relief from the heat and begin to think about Thanksgiving. A time when we typically experience cooler evenings and mornings, although more subtle in Southern California than in other regions.
Growing up in Colorado, autumn was very distinct; the weather notably changes, and the fall colors are dramatic and vivid. Many fall festivals and evenings of trick-or-treating for Halloween included a first snowstorm. It was also exciting to get ready for hunting seasons and to look ahead to the ski season.
Last week, Lisa and I spent a week visiting Colorado; the picture above shows off the amazing Colorado autumn colors from our trip. We were there to visit my mom, friends, and Pastor Hofman, and we enjoyed hearing reports about what God is doing at Redeemer Lutheran Church and School in Delta, Colorado, with an enrollment of nearly 90 children. It’s a budding preschool-8th-grade Lutheran school that the Lord continues to grow and bless. Hearing the foundational stories reminded me of the early days at Crean Lutheran High School that we so cherish, remembering that thus far the Lord has helped us. (1 Samuel 7:12).
Autumn can be a time of reflection and a time of perspective. Perhaps, in our busy lives in Orange County, California, we may not fully appreciate autumn as it is certainly not as pronounced as in other regions of the United States. However, exploring God’s beauty in autumn may be fruitful.
In more agricultural areas, folks may be more familiar with the concept that autumn gives birth to the Harvest Moon that could be observed early last week, which was also a supermoon because of its close proximity to the Earth. The harvest moon was often utilized because of its rising around sunset for several nights in a row, God’s way of providing extended evening lights, allowing farmers to retrieve the crops from the field in grateful anticipation of a harvest festival - one celebrating God’s goodness and the bountiful harvest for the family and community. Now, most farmers have equipment with lights that aid in this task.
This motif and way of life mostly don’t apply to us, although Orange County was once a thriving farming community, as it was settled in the early 1800s and thrived agriculturally through the 1950s. Conceptually, however, reflecting on how the Lord has shone His light in our lives as we toil, although not in the fields, is a good thing. King Solomon asks, "What do workers gain from their toil? And stating, “ I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race” (v. 9 & 10). One of the first things God did after creating man was to give him several jobs. God gave Adam the task of cultivating the garden. God also gave Adam the job of ‘keeping’ the garden, to protect and steward it (Genesis 2:15). He brought the animals to Adam and had Adam name them (Genesis 2:19). In doing so, God set the plan in motion for man to profit; have food to eat, make tools and uses from the bones, and even have clothes to wear and protect man. Work only became ‘toil’ after the fall. Man would now feel the weight of sin under the law, Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life (Genesis 3:17).
Solomon has us then consider beyond what our own reasoning and experiences can reveal, he expresses a deeper purpose that God has in store for us, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God (v. 11-13). This contrast highlights life beyond miserable toil, which is toil in only our own needs and satisfaction. If we work to God’s glory and seek a deeper understanding and purpose, we view our daily assignments as a gift of God, enjoy life, and even find our purpose through our faith in our Almighty Creator. A sharp contrast indeed.
Then, in a faithful and mysterious way, Solomon guides our thoughts to eternity, “I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him (v.14). In Solomon’s wisdom, he could view people as God’s handiwork (Ephesians 2:10) and see that people toil and then die, yet Solomon says everything God does will endure forever. According to the Hebrew dictionary (I don’t know Hebrew, but I looked it up), ‘forever’ is the same root word translated as ‘eternity.’ Everything God does will endure into eternity – and is complete from the beginning and the end (the alpha and omega).
Saints, as the leaves change and we move one season into another, we can be assured beyond Solomon’s wisdom and know that we don’t toil in vain; we have a purpose. Our mission reminds us, Proclaiming Jesus Christ Through Excellence in Education (and in all that we do). “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9). Amen!
In Christ’s love, and mine,
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