“A voice says, ‘Cry!’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Isa. 40:6-8 ESV
[I began writing this at the end of May. If you recall, the cicadas had recently begun their mating ritual.]
If you step outside (and perhaps even from inside) you cannot escape the chorus of cicadas that have erupted recently from underground to shed their exoskeleton and breed. I’m told that this will last about six weeks, then blessed silence as they die off. Eventually the nymphs’ shells and the adults’ bodies will be swept away by wind and broom and it will be another 17 years before this part of the cycle starts all over again.
Our family had the delightful privilege of attending our youngest daughter’s graduation ceremony from high school and the speaker, Mr. Nathan Benjamin, was outstanding. In addition to many excellent thoughts for them from God’s Word, he also challenged the graduates to think longer-term than just the next year or four and asked them to imagine the life changes that will have happened by the time the next brood of cicadas come above-ground.
Do you realize that these amazing insects will make their next appearance in 2038! One of the top sites that came up on a Google search was www.cicadamania.com where one can purchase shirts and mugs (I can always use another mug . . .). The life cycle of these bugs is fascinating – an incredible tribute to God’s creativity in His creation. The eggs are laid in grooves that the female makes in a tree limb, which also exposes a food source when the young hatches. Eventually the nymph falls to the ground where it will burrow and feed on roots (not hibernating as I assumed) until they emerge seventeen years later!
How often do we reflect on our own “life cycle”? Parents with young children some-times cannot wait until the child grows up, but we don’t usually like to think that in 17 years these little ones won’t be little anymore, in fact, most of them will be grown up and out of the home! Parents of adult children can often feel the years passing more quickly than they’d like and the awareness that our own life-span is shorter than ever it was grows day by day. The wisdom of our elders says that Time is a precious gift that needs to be used wisely. The perspective of youth is usually much different. Christian parents have a duty to teach their children the way of the Lord—which has definite practical implications when it comes to our daily and weekly schedules! But every member of God’s Family ought to be intentional in setting the example when it comes to how we spend our time, what our priorities are every day, and week after week.
Would you take a minute and consider this? Would you discuss what you find with another believer? Will you pray about how you might grow in holiness in this area?
The Bible, God’s Word, gives us wisdom from above, showing us how we ought to live out our days. We read the words, but do we hide them in our hearts and apply them to our schedules?
One reality to keep in mind as we think about this is that as Christians: we have been born again (Jn. 3:3)! This truth impacts how we conceive of our “life cycle”, doesn’t it? At the moment of our conversion we are ‘baby’ Christians, just learning how to walk and talk as it were. But we desire to grow! We may have many regrets for all the time we have “wasted” before we began to seriously follow Jesus. But God is gracious; we can imitate the apostle Paul, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13f. ESV).
Where are you in your life as a Christian? Are you four years old or forty? Are you just learning to feed yourself (“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Pt. 2:2-3 ESV), or are you mature enough for solid food (see Heb. 5:14)? Are you growing in your faith? Do you pursue and pray for opportunities to be discipled or to disciple others?
So, as the cicadas die off and their chorus ends, my question for you is this: Will you make wise changes to your daily life and weekly schedule because you know that the end of your race is coming?
Seventeen years seems like a long time, until you look back and realize that your child, who was born in the ‘year of the cicada’ is now 34! We may not know where we will be in another 17 years, or we may have a pretty good idea that we will be with the Lord; but as long as we have breath, let us live for the glory of God and work to make disciples of all nations!
[by the time you read this most or even all of Brood X will have died, may God be pleased to teach us life lessons from this fascinating creature]
Blessings, Pastor David
P.S. I’d like to commend two books by Stephen Smallman as you consider what it means to live as a follower/disciple of Jesus: The Walk and Beginnings.