They say that the life of the Christian is made of ups and downs, of good and bad moments, spiritually speaking, and there is no one who claims that life with God is only made of ups and good moments, because in fact, we are subject to declines and rises of faith every day. And what is the resemblance of a Christian's spiritual life with the seasons of the year?
The Christian when he knew and/or accepted Jesus as his only and true God, is in the flame of first love, in the desire to do everything and much more for the work of the Lord, wants to win souls, preach the word, wants to worship his God in all ways and in all moments of his living, he is always present in the House of God and if possible wants to go out shouting that only Jesus saves, frees and transforms and, I compare this moment with summer, where the days are hot and the sun shines for a long period and the Christian is at the peak of his faith, is stronger than ever, for the Sun of Righteousness (Jesus) illuminates his life with strength and his love for Jesus is hot and intense.
However, after the summer of intense heat comes the fall and, things begin to change. There is still love for Mr Jesus, for His work, but the fervor is no longer the same. There is no longer so much enthusiasm to bring the Word, there is no desire to always be in the House of God, one does not pray anymore and one perceives the diminishment of enthusiasm in relation to God. And I compare this moment of Christian life with the decrease in temperature and the fall of tree leaves that become yellowed and gradually fall, which characterizes autumn.
And then, comes the much-feared winter! Temperatures drop a lot and the Sun no longer shines with intensity in the Christian's life and has the flame of love for Christ weak and small, which can no longer warm his spiritual life as before. The climate is freezing and you no longer see any brightness and enthusiasm, there is no longer the desire to work for the Lord and, He ceases to be first in his living. He begins to have other priorities and the freezing climate drives away any desire to pray, read the Bible and even go to the House of God to worship Him.
But spring arrives and the Christian's life is renewed because, it is typically the season of reflowering of fauna and flora. He begins to receive the rain of the Spirit of God in his living, which gradually makes the vehement desire to flourish and be well with Christ sprout again, and the flame of love becomes stronger, like the temperatures that gradually rise. When least expected he flourished again and the brightness of the Sun of Righteousness shines on his face once more! And summer returns, once again making the cycle of the 4 seasons of the year.
And so is our life in the paths of God, it is inevitable that we go through these phases, that we have the summer of intense heat, the autumn of falling leaves and temperatures, the winter of intense cold and finally spring, of reflowering and renewal of strength, soon after comes summer and so on. But it is necessary that even going through all the seasons, remembering and desiring to always be in summer, because it is the liveliness and warmth of Christ's love that surrounds and warms us and, let us go through the others with confidence and faith, knowing that all things work together for good for those who love God! (Romans 8:28)