The Gospel is Never Out of Season

Imagine if the changing of a season took less than an hour.

In late September, my husband Jeff and I entered the Fall River entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park dressed in lightweight hiking pants and T-shirts. The lush green, yellow and orange were a visual feast as we drove through meadows surrounded by the mountains. Forty-five minutes later, as we drove up to the Alpine Ridge, we found ourselves in another land entirely. The temperature dropped nearly 25 degrees, the ground was barren and the wind was fierce. 

In one short drive, we had left Fall and entered Winter. 

And just as the landscape shifted outside, so did our perspective on the people around us. The Lord used those physical changes to remind us that the opportunity to share the hope of Christ is never out of season….even on vacation (2 Timothy 4:1–2). 

We asked the Lord to provide us with Gospel opportunities and to give us hearts ready to share the reason for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15). And, oh how He answered, surrounding us each day with people who needed the hope of the Gospel!

As I have reflected on God’s goodness in these conversations, I noticed that the story of each of these lives, in some way, reflected the physical seasons that we see in nature. 

Spring

Shruti cheerfully burst into our world like an early Spring blossom. 

The Lord had ordained for this young Indian woman to serve us dinner at a popular Estes Park restaurant. In the midst of an ordinary conversation, she mentioned something she had prayed about. When I asked WHO she prayed to, she replied with a joy-filled smile, “Jesus!”

Shruti had come to faith while living in her homeland of India through the faithful witness of her older sister. She later fled from the persecution and isolation she experienced there. 

In spite of these hardships, the Lord had given her great joy! Her exuberant faith was contagious. The expectancy of her prayers and the devotion of her heart were humbling as she shared boldly about her desire to work exclusively for the Lord and not for personal gain. 

She was hungry to grow in the Word of God yet she was not connected to the church. The Lord gave us sweet opportunities to show her the value of the church, a place where she could sit under the preaching of the Word and join in the fellowship and discipleship found in a body of believers. By His Sovereign Providence, we were able to point her to a faithful church we had attended just the day before, a place where her roots could grow deep in Christ.

Summer

If Shruti was the bright burst of a spring flower, Langdon matched the comfortable, relaxed warmth of Summer. This experienced and easy-going cowboy took us on a slow and peaceful horseback ride through the rocky meadow paths and the hilly, switch-backed forest trails, spotting wildlife and teaching us a little history along the way.

His quiet confidence kept us at ease and, by the work of the Spirit, Jeff and I both sensed that he knew the Lord. Sure enough, as we probed just below the surface, we learned that this young man had grown up in a large, well-known church in the South. We heard about his favorite bands, his favorite preachers and some exciting life events that he was anticipating in the near future. His faith appeared steady and comfortable, even as he anticipated major life changes in the near future. 

It was a gift of grace to enjoy time with this brother in Christ and even as we encouraged him in the Lord, the Lord used him to encourage our hearts as well. We can only hope that the fellowship we shared was noticed by the unbelievers on the ride as they watched brothers and sisters walking together in the hope of Christ Jesus. 

Fall

Fall is beautiful with its cool crisp air and glorious color. But, beneath the beauty is a reminder of dormancy and, even death, as leaves fall and perennial plants seemingly disappear underground until Spring. 

Maria found herself in such a season. 

As Maria greeted us at a souvenir shop where she worked, we noted hints of sadness. As we chatted, this elderly woman began to open up. Her words revealed that she was like a tree shedding its leaves. She had lost her husband, then her health and, now, even the time for the rest that her body needed. 

Though she was a believer with well-informed, deep faith, her conversation revealed that the hope she had in Christ felt far away as she battled exhaustion and longed for community.  

She allowed us to pray for her. When we pointed her to the same church we had recommended to Shruti, she told us, excitedly, that a local friend had suggested it just weeks before. She promised to visit as soon as she felt strong enough.

Although we lingered with her a little longer than planned, we finally had to say goodbye, trusting the Lord (and hopefully the Church) to minister to her lonely heart. 

Winter

In the short, dark and often gloomy days of Winter, it can seem that death has triumphed. Plants go underground under the deep snow. Animals hide or hibernate and the mountain forest becomes quiet. 

Ivan was living in a state of Winter. 

He had rightly rejected the Mormon faith in which he was raised but, in his heart, he rejected Jesus Christ, the Son of God as well. He considered himself an atheist and saw no need for Christ. 

Ivan’s biggest concern was overpopulation. He sharply disagreed with the command to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” And, he’s not opposed to what many might consider radical methods of controlling the earth’s population.

In our time with Ivan, we listened far more than we talked. We probed and he willingly shared deeply. We agreed upon very little but engaged in substantive conversations about the most pressing issues of life. 

We encouraged him to understand his current state and we pointed him to Christ and to the Scriptures. As we wrapped up our long conversation, Ivan did not make a profession of faith. He did, however, humbly recognize that, perhaps, he was more of an agnostic than a true atheist.

As we left him, our hope remained fully rooted in Christ and our prayer is that the Holy Spirit might minister to Ivan’s soul directly or through the faithful witness of other believers that will inevitably cross paths with him. 

God’s Goodness in All Seasons

As I’ve pondered our time with these new friends, made in the image of God, I was struck by the way the Gospel meets each of us in every season, continually transforming us as we grow in Christlikeness.

I can see how, in each life and in each conversation, the Gospel met the lost and the found.

The Gospel met Shruti with a reminder that God has adopted her - not just by becoming a loving Father to her but by offering her a family of believers to encourage and sharpen her as she grows in Christ. 

And, the Gospel met our brother Langdon with encouragement, fellowship and perseverance in Christ in a way that we hope will strengthen him as he enters a new season of life.

For Maria, the Gospel speaks to the sufficiency of Christ. He is her Comfort and He calls her to experience that comfort, through the work of His Spirit and His people.

Finally, for our lost friend, Ivan, he heard the Gospel that brings life to the spiritually dead and offers the opportunity to escape the life described by C.S. Lewis as “Always winter and never Christmas.” 

Perhaps the greatest reminder is that each one of us will pass through many different seasons. We all begin in Winter, dead in our sin and hopeless without Christ. But by God’s grace, He makes those who belong to Him alive together with Christ, and through every season, He promises to carry us home.

May Christ use us to bring hope to one another in every season. Wherever we are, and whatever season we, or those around us, are in, may we remember that the hope of the Gospel is never out of season.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Colossians 4:5-6