Last Sunday, in addition to being Father’s Day, the celestial event known as the Summer Solstice occurred. Early Sunday morning (1:45am) the sun was as far north as it goes, its rays crossing the earth directly overhead along the Tropic of Cancer (the latitude line at 23.5° north, passing through Mexico, Saharan Africa, and India). That made Sunday the longest day of the year for us in the northern hemisphere (first day of summer), and the shortest day in the southern hemisphere (first day of winter for them).
Realizing that this has occurred for as long as the earth has existed makes it easy to see why so many of the world’s religions are based on cycles – the ebb and flow of time. The cycles of birth, life, death, and rebirth are key tenets of most world religions. The goal of many eastern religions is to somehow escape the wheel of these endless cycles. As Christians we certainly cannot deny that we have seasons in our lives. Summertime seems to especially remind us with so many important moments occurring this time of year. Graduations, weddings, births, annual vacations – there are so many momentous occasions that occur during summer that remind us we are on a kind of “wheel” of our own that cycles back around – and which seems to spin faster and faster the older we get.
Salvation in many of the world’s religions consists of escaping this cycle. The Buddhist tunes out the material world (which he believes is an illusion anyway) and finds his bliss – his nirvana in nothingness. The Hindu is finally reincarnated on a higher plane as one of the gods and escapes the cycles of birth and death, living and dying.
Christianity is different. In Christianity we believe God entered time in the person of Jesus Christ bringing salvation to earth. We don’t escape ourselves and our world and the supposed sordid, painful cycles of life. Instead Jesus came to give all that we experience here new meaning and value. We don’t “earn” salvation in Christianity by the way we live “this life.” Instead salvation is freely given in Christ – not to those who deserve it, but to all who will accept Him as their Savior and Lord.
Without the tilt of the earth's axis, we would have no seasons and every day would be the same. Without the pain of grief and loss, our joy would not be nearly as wonderful. Life is not about dulling yourself to the pain of living; it is about embracing the goodness of God in every season of your life. What season are you in today? Enjoy it to the fullest, embrace God and all he has for you, and for you to do, in it. That is how life is meant to be lived.
Realizing that this has occurred for as long as the earth has existed makes it easy to see why so many of the world’s religions are based on cycles – the ebb and flow of time. The cycles of birth, life, death, and rebirth are key tenets of most world religions. The goal of many eastern religions is to somehow escape the wheel of these endless cycles. As Christians we certainly cannot deny that we have seasons in our lives. Summertime seems to especially remind us with so many important moments occurring this time of year. Graduations, weddings, births, annual vacations – there are so many momentous occasions that occur during summer that remind us we are on a kind of “wheel” of our own that cycles back around – and which seems to spin faster and faster the older we get.
Salvation in many of the world’s religions consists of escaping this cycle. The Buddhist tunes out the material world (which he believes is an illusion anyway) and finds his bliss – his nirvana in nothingness. The Hindu is finally reincarnated on a higher plane as one of the gods and escapes the cycles of birth and death, living and dying.
Christianity is different. In Christianity we believe God entered time in the person of Jesus Christ bringing salvation to earth. We don’t escape ourselves and our world and the supposed sordid, painful cycles of life. Instead Jesus came to give all that we experience here new meaning and value. We don’t “earn” salvation in Christianity by the way we live “this life.” Instead salvation is freely given in Christ – not to those who deserve it, but to all who will accept Him as their Savior and Lord.
Without the tilt of the earth's axis, we would have no seasons and every day would be the same. Without the pain of grief and loss, our joy would not be nearly as wonderful. Life is not about dulling yourself to the pain of living; it is about embracing the goodness of God in every season of your life. What season are you in today? Enjoy it to the fullest, embrace God and all he has for you, and for you to do, in it. That is how life is meant to be lived.
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