Summer is finally here in Seymour, Indiana. Temperatures have finally reached summer levels. The sun shines brightly until close to 9:30pm. And, school is officially out of session. Now everybody gets to settle into new rhythms and realities for the next several months.
One of the realities for many of us is we will be spending significantly more time outside. A quick perusal of social media sites reveals that many of us are spending long hours at the ball fields, in personal or community pools, at amusement parks, at beaches, or just enjoying fun in the sun in our backyards. There is a new rhythm that will be helpful to develop in light of how much time you’ll be spending in the light of the sun. DON’T FORGET TO PUT ON SOME SUNSCREEN.
Yesterday, after church, my lovely wife decided the pool needed to be swept. Occasionally, following long periods of rain or a heavy storm, dirt, dead insects, leaves, and a varied assortment of nastiness will settle on the floor of the pool. We have found that the most efficient way to clean the pool is for one of us to get in and do laps with a pool vacuum cleaner. So, into the pool and round and round she went. Upon finishing her task, she sat back in one of our deck chairs to relax for a minute while she dried in the sun. Unfortunately for her, she relaxed a little too hard and fell asleep. My wife’s skin is now a not-so-subtle shade of lobster red.
As she showed me the sunburn, my wife told me how she had intended to apply sunscreen before she went outside. She understands and believes in the benefits that sunscreen provides for people. The bottle is sitting out on the kitchen table where she had placed it so she wouldn’t forget. It turns out that our understanding and good intentions do nothing to protect us from the kiss of the summer sun. Apparently, we actually have to turn our intentions into action for sunscreen to work as designed.
In the book of James, the author warns that our faith is much like our intentions. If we stop at simply believing the truth about Christ and His calling for our lives, our faith is dead. Our faith will only make a difference in our lives and in the world when we do something with it. A faith that doesn’t lead to action is useless. James even points to a couple examples. If we believe someone is in need of food and clothing, but we do nothing to provide for their needs, our faith is worthless to that person. If we say we believe in God and know who Jesus is, but it doesn’t change how we live, our faith is as valuable as the faith of the demons.
Faith is important for all followers of Christ, foundational even. We need to believe Jesus is who the Bible says He is. We need to trust that He did what the Bible says He did and that He’ll do what it says He’ll do. But, if we are to experience the benefit of that belief, we need to allow what we believe to motivate and mobilize us to do what He’s called us to do. We should be feeding and clothing those in need. We should be standing up for the oppressed. We should be sharing the good news of what Jesus has done with all who would listen… And, while it’s not a biblical imperative, it wouldn’t hurt to put on a little sunscreen every now and again.
