As Reliable As The Weather

Frustrating! I had just packed away a box of jumpers and jackets this weekend. A warm day and our afternoon visit to the seaside lulled me into a false sense of season and we were ready to bask in the warmth of an English springtime. And now, this morning, I’ve turned the heating back on, and my cup of tea has turned cold in a matter of seconds.

Do you remember the days, when we had four reliable Seasons – summer was warm, autumn damp, winter drab and cold – and spring – fresh and showery.

Of course there were some man-made variations – such as ‘smog’ – but on the whole, the climate was reliable and the weather was predictable to everybody - except the forecasters. The confidence we used to have in the climate, didn’t begin in our childhood – it goes back a long way.

700 years before Christ, Isaiah used the weather, to illustrate God's reliability ‘As rain and snow come down to water the earth and produce seed for the farmer;’ he said ‘so the word of God will always fulfil its purpose.’ It's an interesting way around! Not that the weather is as reliable as God – but that God is as reliable as the weather.

And a few decades after Isaiah, Jeremiah told his people: ‘God gives autumn and spring rains in season and assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’

But in recent years, the weather has changed. We have not needed scientists to tell us that the world is getting warmer – and much less predictable. So, the ability forecasters now have – to tell us almost to the minute when it is going to rain – and where – has proved invaluable to everybody, except perhaps the sports arenas who now use artificial turf or are played beneath their giant super-domes.

Our climate is now both unreliable and unpredictable - and the ‘rains in season and regular weeks of harvest’ that Jeremiah promised, have all but disappeared.

But, we can hardly blame God for the man-made gasses, chemicals and other pollutants, with which we are destroying the atmosphere above us – and it looks as though our ‘country gardens’ are going to change dramatically or even fade away.

At some point – very soon – we need to clean up our act – so that our children at least, can look forward once again, to a ‘reliable climate.’

Father in Heaven, You have blessed us with the all the wonders and joys of life. Help us to protect the gifts You have bestowed upon us. We have become greedyand careless. The seasons hold the story of life’s cycle. Teach us to become better stewards and protectors of Your gifts. We pray this in Christ’s name. Amen