The Weekly Epistle 6/2/21

    Dust. Nothing but dust. That’s all we would be left with if there was no rain—a proposition empirically proven by the “Dust Bowl” of the 1930s. The American prairies were ravaged by a drought that lasted nearly ten years. The lush landscape of America’s topsoil turned lifeless, and the amber waves of grain fell desolate. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people found themselves unexpectedly hungry, thirsty, homeless and displaced.

 “…He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous…”—Matthew 5:45
 
     As modern readers, we tend to interpret this passage negatively. We tend to see rain as a bad thing, the great foe of picnics and outdoor weddings. But the notion our Lord had in mind was quite the opposite. Jesus saw rain as a good thing. Jesus saw rain as a necessary thing. Our Memorial Day weekend may have been foiled by rain, but did you know that before the torrent wreaked havoc on our four-day weekend, the annual rain level in New Hampshire was down by two whole feet? Last week my grass was brown and dead. This week it is lush and green. Last week the flowers in my garden were limp and wilting. This week they are full and vibrant. That’s what rain does; it brings forth life. The frontiersmen populating the Great Plains in the 1930s would have been delighted to have a Memorial Day weekend like the one we just had. 
 
     I am sure you can see where I am going with this. It’s all about perspective. God sends a little metaphorical rain into our lives, a sickness, a breakup, an unexpected pregnancy, or some other hardship, and we writhe in our foiled plans. However, God sends these rains knowing they will bring forth life and growth if we just entrust ourselves to his care. Consider what Jesus said through the apostle James. 
 
     “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”—James 1:2-4
 
     For life to grow and flourish, into that life, a little rain must fall. Don’t despise the rain the Good Lord sends into your life because it is that very rain that will bring forth the life that resides within the dry and hardened soil of your heart.
 
Blessings, 
 
Pastor Dan