Winter Reflections

"While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22).

"You have set all the borders of the earth; You have made summer and winter" (Psalm 74:17).

"If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself" (2 Timothy 2:13).

As I write we are in the midst of a cold snap. All the complaining about warm winters is over. It is keep-your-pets-indoors, wear-layers-of-clothing, see-your-breath-in-a-fog-before-your-face COLD!

When Noah and his family emerged from the ark after the flood, the Lord made a promise to mankind: "I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done" (Gen 8:21). Then, as a reminder of this, the Lord promised the constancy of the seasons. As long as there is seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night, we know that there is a covenant God.

This account reminds me of Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 2:13: "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself." Just as the preservation of the earth does not depend on God’s approval of human conduct, so our salvation does not depend on God’s approval of our human efforts at faithfulness. If we are saved and persevere in the faith, all the glory goes to God alone. "If [read "when"] we are faithless, He remains faithful." Now this is not to make any excuses for slackness in our behavior. The redeemed man will strive to live a godly life. This word humbles us and it gives us hope.

So, when it gets cold outside or the snow starts to fall, consider for a moment a faithful Creator God who has entered into a covenant with unfaithful men whose hearts are evil from youth. Remember also that the same God who is faithful to give us winter and summer is also faithful to keep those who are saved in Christ.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

(Evangel article 2/6/07)