Open Season Any Season
Over the years, I have heard many refer to seasonal Christians, referring to those whose convictions appear in tact on Sunday but are strangely absent outside the church house. The title, likewise, is used to refer to those who find living for God simple in good times but blame Him during bad….or vice versa. There are always those who will serve Him when they need something but play hooky when the sun is shining.
Truly, the description of being a seasonal Christian is not a particularly flattering one. Paul’s second letter to Timothy may provide a different perspective, however.
What I love about Paul is that he is down to earth, realizing that we as Christians are not perfect. In fact, although we “strive unto perfection,” human nature itself lends itself to inconsistency and fluctuation.
We all have good times and bad. We all have strong times and weak. We all have struggles and temptations as well as victories! We all have areas of weakness and temptation though some are more visible than others.
In fact, the very nature of victory suggests that a battle must take place beforehand. And the mere definition of being an overcomer insists that there be an obstacle to be overcome!
Paul takes such fluctuation into account in II Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”
Being instant in season and out of season does not necessarily mean that you are ready to witness even when caught off guard. It means that you are prepared to be a witness even when everything is going wrong in your life!
Allow me to break this passage down a bit. As a cook, I like to make dishes ‘in their season.’ Stews, chili, pot pies, and cinnamon-based desserts are reserved for the cooler months and holiday time; they warm the body against the cool outdoors while, likewise, warming the heart with memories of Thanksgivings, Christmases, and winters of the past. Watermelon, hot dogs, and cool pasta salads, on the other hand, are more befitting the summer months. In fact, even the ingredients of these dishes come into ripeness during the summer.
Have you ever tasted an apricot that is not ripe yet or is over-ripe? Indeed, it can be bitter or even sour to the taste! That is quite simply because it is not ready to be consumed.
Nowadays, our scientists have perfected methods of making all types of fruits and vegetables available all year long thanks to various techniques and greenhouses. Earlier generations, then, understood scriptures regarding seasons much more than we do!
Fifty years ago, families knew they could pick a fresh apricot around late spring or early summer. To do so at any other time of year would result in bitterness, sourness, or even a lack of flavor. Even now, you will find a marked difference in the quality of apricots in your super market, depending on the time of year you buy them because the long storage takes some of the flavor out of them!
The same families knew that to taste apricot during the winter months, the apricots would need to be preserved. Therefore, in winter months, to think of apricot was to think of the sweet apricot jam preserves made by grandma! Accordingly, apricot was eaten a different way in the winter…in pies, on bread, or even heated up!
Essentially, God has given nature her seasons…and our lives are no different.
We, likewise, have seasons of ripe goodness where the blessings flow, friendships blossom, and we harvest goodness. At the same token, however, we also experience seasons of harshness, cold winters within our lives that yield estrangement, bitterness, or hurt.
And those seasons, whether simply caused by life circumstances or our own choices, may last a few months or even a few years; the seasons in our lives are often not as predictable as those in nature.
We do, however, know that God sends rain upon “the just and the unjust” alike; and, indeed, every season is just that—a season! That means it will eventually end.
Jesus took this series of life seasons into consideration when he said, “ 44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?”
Essentially, he is telling us that even when we are in a season of bitterness and disappointment, hardship and strain, we are to love our fellow man, including those who appear to have caused the tough season!
Knowing the Times of God
Like the farmer with a Farmer’s Almanac, we should be aware of the seasons surrounding us.
Job said, “Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?”
Truly, the description of being a seasonal Christian is not a particularly flattering one. Paul’s second letter to Timothy may provide a different perspective, however.
What I love about Paul is that he is down to earth, realizing that we as Christians are not perfect. In fact, although we “strive unto perfection,” human nature itself lends itself to inconsistency and fluctuation.
We all have good times and bad. We all have strong times and weak. We all have struggles and temptations as well as victories! We all have areas of weakness and temptation though some are more visible than others.
In fact, the very nature of victory suggests that a battle must take place beforehand. And the mere definition of being an overcomer insists that there be an obstacle to be overcome!
Paul takes such fluctuation into account in II Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”
Being instant in season and out of season does not necessarily mean that you are ready to witness even when caught off guard. It means that you are prepared to be a witness even when everything is going wrong in your life!
Allow me to break this passage down a bit. As a cook, I like to make dishes ‘in their season.’ Stews, chili, pot pies, and cinnamon-based desserts are reserved for the cooler months and holiday time; they warm the body against the cool outdoors while, likewise, warming the heart with memories of Thanksgivings, Christmases, and winters of the past. Watermelon, hot dogs, and cool pasta salads, on the other hand, are more befitting the summer months. In fact, even the ingredients of these dishes come into ripeness during the summer.
Have you ever tasted an apricot that is not ripe yet or is over-ripe? Indeed, it can be bitter or even sour to the taste! That is quite simply because it is not ready to be consumed.
Nowadays, our scientists have perfected methods of making all types of fruits and vegetables available all year long thanks to various techniques and greenhouses. Earlier generations, then, understood scriptures regarding seasons much more than we do!
Fifty years ago, families knew they could pick a fresh apricot around late spring or early summer. To do so at any other time of year would result in bitterness, sourness, or even a lack of flavor. Even now, you will find a marked difference in the quality of apricots in your super market, depending on the time of year you buy them because the long storage takes some of the flavor out of them!
The same families knew that to taste apricot during the winter months, the apricots would need to be preserved. Therefore, in winter months, to think of apricot was to think of the sweet apricot jam preserves made by grandma! Accordingly, apricot was eaten a different way in the winter…in pies, on bread, or even heated up!
Essentially, God has given nature her seasons…and our lives are no different.
We, likewise, have seasons of ripe goodness where the blessings flow, friendships blossom, and we harvest goodness. At the same token, however, we also experience seasons of harshness, cold winters within our lives that yield estrangement, bitterness, or hurt.
And those seasons, whether simply caused by life circumstances or our own choices, may last a few months or even a few years; the seasons in our lives are often not as predictable as those in nature.
We do, however, know that God sends rain upon “the just and the unjust” alike; and, indeed, every season is just that—a season! That means it will eventually end.
Jesus took this series of life seasons into consideration when he said, “ 44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?”
Essentially, he is telling us that even when we are in a season of bitterness and disappointment, hardship and strain, we are to love our fellow man, including those who appear to have caused the tough season!
Knowing the Times of God
Like the farmer with a Farmer’s Almanac, we should be aware of the seasons surrounding us.
Job said, “Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?”
Could it be that we haven’t studied our ‘Almanac,’ the Bible, or talked to our God enough to understand the season we are in? Farmers, even today, study the almanac and adhere to age-old principles, carefully considering its advice for planting times, crop rotation, and techniques for growing the best crops.
How much more, being harvesters of souls, should we be consulting the Word of God? Could it be that we simply do not know Him as we should?
Don’t misunderstand. Knowing God’s times does not mean being exempt from trial. In fact, the farmer does not control the elements, nor can he predict the weather’s severity. Weathermen today are still unable to predict weather patterns well, which is how we suffer so many casualties from tornadoes, floods, mud slides and drought.
They can see when the opportunity for rain or snow is ideal by studying the signs around them. The rest, however, is up to the Almighty.
Notice, Jesus had a similar conversation with his disciples:
“When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Hmm, if it isn’t power to know the seasons intimately—such as how long they will last or their severity—what is this power we are given in the Holy Ghost?
Indeed, it is staying power….power to weather the seasons!
The power to continue in the faith despite the fluctuations of faith, strength, and perceived personal ability in the storms of life.
You see, while we view our seasons as ups and downs, often likening our experience to that of a rollercoaster, there is another element we often do not consider.
While our personal strength appears to gather momentum and then wane, His strength fails not.
While our personal faith has times of boundless inspiration tempered by moments of utter despair and disbelief, there is an element of faith we have not considered. First, “God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). We all have something to work with, no matter how large or small we esteem it to be. Second, faith is tied to righteousness. In Romans 4, we find that Abraham’s faith was accounted to him as righteousness.
Even with perfect faith, however, “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf” (Is. 64:6). But there is hope for II Corinthians 5:21 tells us that Jesus was made to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Through Jesus, we are made righteous and through faith in Him, all other necessity of faith is met.
While our personal ability may not seem up to the task or trial at hand, there is a God who lives through us if we will lean on His understanding rather than our own. It’s time that we be no longer ignorant of Satan’s devices, but rather learn to trust in God’s strength rather than our own might, God’s righteousness rather than our own power of belief, and God’s ability through a surrendered vessel rather than our own talent (2 Cor. 2:11).
Although the seasons of our life might seem to mimic the movement of a rollercoaster, there remains a consistent, stable stream of spiritual energy undergirding us!
I once heard such a beautiful point made by Rev. Warman in a message preached at ‘Because of the Times.’
He quoted Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
It is upon this unfailing line of strength that Paul encourages us to lean in II Timothy 4:2 as he commands us to “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”
First, we are admonished—via Paul’s message to Timothy—to preach the Word.
Second, we are to be instant in season and out of season. Whether life is going well or you’re in the deepest trial you’ve ever faced, be prepared to preach the Word!
II Timothy 2:15 admonishes us to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Furthermore, we must “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (I Peter 3:15).
How can you explain something you’ve never understood? How can you witness about a power you’ve never researched? We must read our Bibles and know what we believe….and why!
Paul continues, “reprove, rebuke, exhort…”
To reprove is to correct, much as a parent might a child who repeatedly reaches to touch a hot stove. It is an act of warning, of protection, and of admonition tempered by love. Indeed, most of our witness and preaching must be in this vein.
To rebuke is a much stronger action. It means to openly declare an untruth! Often, there are those who seek to indoctrinate others with falsehood; in those instances, our love for souls should compel us to openly rebuke false doctrine.
Finally, to exhort is to encourage. Discipleship might well fit into the exhortation category as we take other saints under our wing, leading them through friendship to a more perfect walk with God.
Paul concludes that each of these three methods is to be tempered with longsuffering and fueled by doctrine.
What does that mean?
We all know that to be longsuffering is to have patience. If it takes time or even ‘trial and error’ to win a soul, it is worth it!
Equally important, however, we are to preach the Word, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with doctrine! We must know the doctrine and utilize the Word of God as our basis for any corrections and even encouragements we give!
Only when we are able to witness, instruct, defend, and encourage souls despite our personal season are we fulfilling the commandment, related by Paul!
