Autumn to Spring

“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” John 6:53

I love Autumn. For some reason it inspires me even more than Spring. I’ve always been “earthy” in my favorite colors, ask my kids. Yes, it’s sure as anything, Dad will be wearing brown or green, maybe blue occasionally. It doesn’t hurt that I grew up during the hippie era which probably spoiled my fashion sense for the rest of my life.

As much as I love the Autumn gold, brown, yellow and faded green, those colors don’t reflect life. They broadcast, with their fallen leaves and balding branches, that winter, the middle of which we call “dead”, is soon around the corner. Those beautiful hues are created by the lack of sunlight and the inability for the plants to produce their usual chlorophyll.

But, as anyone who is more than a year old knows, the colors return. The dead of winter is actually the slumbering of earth, waiting for the rebirth of spring. What appears to be dead and cold, within a few short months will whisper with sprigs peeking from branches, and buds covering the future blossoms which paint the landscape once again.

All of this life, this ebb and flow, the cycle of bright glory to quiet slumber, goes on year after year without a single human turning a spade to help. We manage our patches, many of us even starting our personal plants inside during late winter to get a head start of spring. But we are just going along with the life cycle that already is in place. We do not produce life, and we have a pretty hard time destroying it (though modern man seems to give it the old college try.)

This helps me when I think about Jesus’ words about “flesh” and “spirit”. The “flesh” is the part of our life that functions in the material world. It has nothing to do with our physical bodies, per se, although it is lived out through our bodies. The flesh is the way we operate in the physical world, especially as seen apart from God.

Jesus tells us that this “flesh” type of living counts for nothing. Maybe it would be like telling a grasshopper, “As much as you imagine, strive and work at it, your desire to be a human is worthless. It is something that simply is impossible.” That is no disparagement of the insect, it is simply a statement of truth.

Jesus is telling us that if we want a relationship with God, our human effort means nothing. It not only means nothing, it, in fact, is useless in terms of relationship with God. He tells us that it is only the “Spirit” which gives life. I believe He is referring to the Holy Spirit, primarily, rather than our own human spirit. If this was a commentary, I would lay out my arguments for that statement, but this is meant to be a fairly short read. Perhaps another time.

The significance of this is startling: All my attempts at spirituality that start with “me” trying to work upward have no meaning whatsoever. Jesus doesn’t even pat us on the head for a “good effort”, which is probably a good idea, seeing we still try to impress God with our spiritual machinations nonetheless.

It is a sad fact, borne out by recent research, that most “born again” Christians define themselves as people who “act right morally”. We find “trusting Jesus personally for salvation” or “following Jesus and His teachings” much further down the list. Don’t get me wrong, followers of Jesus should be moral folks. But that is not the center of our faith. And that is what Jesus is trying to make us see.

“The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” We believe that when we experience it. I know that every time I read a passage where Jesus speaks or a narration of His actions, I am touched deeper again within. I am drawn to this Man who knew who He was and why He came. He boldly acted like God (forgiving sins and raising the dead), and lived as a human (getting weary, hungry, and even frustrated). I cannot rein Him in to my two-bit religion that requires Sunday attendance, 15 minutes of Bible Reading a day, and keeping my TV viewing to only TBN or Fox News. (Humor alert).

Every time I get worked up, trying to “be” more alive, I end up more frustrated. I grunt my way to a higher place with God, timing my prayer life and hoping I pray maybe 10 percent longer this year than last. Perhaps I’ll contribute 13.5 % of my income this year instead of 12 %, and my internet usage will have less of a hold on my time. It is not that God rejects my attempts, it is just that they have no value in making me a better Christian.

I am a follower of Jesus because of my faith in Him personally, not because I attend church more often, (or get out later on Sunday than any other church). Just like the life in those trees come Spring, the life of the Spirit within me is what blossoms into the good works our Father wants to see.

I participate, but I do not claim the power over that life. Jesus’ words are life and spirit. The sunshine is life to the flora, waiting to drink in its brilliant power in photosynthesis. And, as a believer, as I drink in the beauty and wonder of Jesus’ words, not merely reading them, but taking them into my spirit deeply, I experience life as well.

It takes a bit of faith to live this way. We want success now. So, if I can show that I attended church more often this month than last month, I have something I can measure. But, focusing on merely letting Jesus’ words deep into my life is a different story. There may be a whole lot of changing going on within me that no one will see for quite some time. I don’t like to live that way. I want to see my progress; I want people to see my progress. I want people to comment on my progress.

God wants to meet me where no one sees. Eventually, we may realize we have walked out of a “dead of winter” faith right into the middle of wild and raucous colors of spring.