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Remember going to the first day of elementary school after a summer of fun?  The mandatory essay on “My summer” helped us learn to write, or maybe not!  Here is my summer essay – written in grade school style.

I had a fun summer.  We went to lots of places.  I got to meet some relatives that I hadn’t seen since I was younger.  That was nice.

I went to Calgary, Regina, Birch Hills, Prince Albert, Georgetown, Shakespeare, Trenton, Toronto, Gravelbourg, Moose Jaw, and Lucky Lake.  They are nice towns.  I went to Las Vegas on my winter holiday.  My mom says they are vacations but I don’t know why.

I met some uncles and aunts, and some cousins and some other relatives. Some of them were very old.  Some of them were just born.  They were all very nice.  Especially when they didn’t cry.

It is nice to be home.

Every once-in-a-while I write something in an email that I think may actually be interesting and worth sharing with others.  Below is one such rant!

The older I get, the more I realize that our society has written out most "biblical" allusions and Christian terms from their vocabulary – or redefined them.

At one time, Limited Atonement may have been meant to portray God’s steadfast love for those who were willing to fear and obey Him.  Unfortunately the term now strikes ears who hear only that they may have been (probably are) excluded from God’s love.  So they don’t seek the remedy for their sin and for a personal relationship with God because they don’t think there is one coming from the Christian subculture.

I realize that any specialized profession (theology being our profession) has their own language.  For precision’s sake, we learn that language so that those in the profession are speaking the same language.  For the outsider to the profession (and this includes all sorts of professions), we do "outreach" (a term that I find interesting – borrowed from Christian roots??).  This includes finding similarities in our two languages so that we (the professional and the outsider) can "listen" to each other.

In relation to Limited Atonement, our society’s language is full of words of inclusion – we must find ways to express God’s love for everyone.  At the same time, we must find ways to express exclusion that make sense to them. 

And that is where the Holy Spirit has his work cut out for him.  While we can argue, explain and reason – there is something about conversion that is mysterious and reaches into the heart of people – where we as professionals can’t go.  God’s Spirit must witness to a person’s spirit – to speak that person’s heart language in such a way that they are willing to go another direction (repent).   With that conversion, they suddenly begin to understand the deeper things of their profession of Christ.

Should we abandon our specialized language of theology?  No.  Should we press in harder to understand our society?  Yes.

"Speaking fish" is a good way to describe how we have to relearn our vocabulary.   You can’t fish until you find the water where the fish are.  You can’t fish unless you have the nets/lines/hooks to reel them in.  Matthew understood the Jewish mindset.  Paul got the Gentile approach to life.  John heard the heart cries of unloved people.  Luke understood those who had a strong "spiritual" side to their lives.  The content doesn’t change – the delivery does.

I have been cogitating on, thinking about, and digesting comments made by a graduating teen.  This particular person is no slouch in terms of brains and is particularly articulate.  They are also invested heavily in serving this world.

The next world is irrelevant to them.  Or rather, they have no belief that there is life beyond this life. 

This belief system carries me back a few years to conversations with a senior who also shared this thread of belief.  His life was to end with his last breath and he believed his eternity was merely carried on through his progeny – those he had sired.

My wise brother once commented that, had he not been a Christian, he would have leaned heavily towards this existential belief, best portrayed by Jean Paul Sartre.  Life, which is meaningless in this belief system, is given a faint glimmer of hope by serving others and siring the next generation.

Heaven dispels this type of faint wishing.  The scandal of heaven is that life is never done, merely transferred to a different dimension.  Death is not your saviour – ridding you of your mistakes and accomplishments.  Instead, you are given an opportunity in this life to prepare for continued life. 

In which case, seeking an understanding of heaven becomes rather important.

Most of you are already thinking, “What is it?” 

Perhaps our waistline, or our investments or even our “capacity” (just had to throw in a well worn management term just for the fun of “it”).

Actually, this is more about rain, and rain, and rain, and rain, and . . .

In West Central Saskatchewan this is usually harvest season.  Harvesters are out in the field with their combines, grain trucks are hauling to bins over well used dusty country roads, and field suppers are not unusual.

Not this year.  Sump pumps are churning, water channels have widened, lakes are at new levels, and mosquitos have been seen forming their own clouds!

This is the new normal for this summer.  Watching the weather radar has become redundant.  All you need to do is plan for one day of sunshine, two of rain, then repeat.

As one astute optimistic observer mentioned, “Weeds can be rather beautiful.” 

Most of us have made sure that only grass grows.  This year our efforts to control those “it” plants have been rather fruitless.  I sprayed some herbicide on a beautiful summer day and a rain shower decided to come by in the next few hours for a visit.  I’m sure attracted by the newly sprayed weed inhibitor.

And so, the flowers of the myriad of plants God has created have sprouted and bloomed.  Colors I’ve never seen have appeared.  The rainbows are having a hard time matching the earth tones and prismatic hues found in the garden, lawn and yard.

As the rain falls, and the sun peaks through, I look out from the front window and enjoy.

Just watching it grow!