The Best Summer of Your Life

The Best Summer of Your Life

With the days growing longer and temperatures rising into the nineties, it is a sure sign that summer will soon be here. Summer is such a great time of excitement with picnics in the park, cookouts with friends and vacations to exotic places. Whatever your summer holds, take time to consider how you can use your summer for God and His kingdom.

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says to His disciples, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” Too often as human beings, we are seeking many things besides God’s kingdom. There are many items on our list of things to do and places to go. We are surprised, however, when our plans fail to bring the peace, joy and happiness for which we were hoping.

This summer can be different. Why not consider the blessings of giving this summer to God for His glory and purpose? For the next three months, look for opportunities to live out your faith in Jesus Christ in new and unique ways.

One opportunity may be to participate in a mission trip with your church or with a church in your community. Mission trips allow you the excitement of going to a unique part of the United States or even to a foreign country. However, the difference lies in the purpose and mission for your trip. Instead of going to the beach for a tan and to watch the waves, a mission team would go to organize activities on the beach, minister to families and share the love of Jesus. Instead of simply going camping in the mountains for a week, a mission team would use its campsite for Children’s Bible lessons, crafts and games. Teams will crisscross the United States and the globe this summer for hundreds of unforgettable experiences as they invest their lives in the lives of others.

Maybe traveling away from home on a mission trip is too big of a step this year. There are many opportunities right in your own community to give your summer to God. There are local camps, especially Christian camps, who are always in need of volunteer counselors. Often communities have work projects, such as Habitat for Humanity, going on in the summer. You may even create your own projects through helping a family in need, befriending an elderly neighbor or showing concern for others through a multitude of other actions.

Perhaps the most obvious opportunity is within your own church. It is almost a given that every church will have Vacation Bible School during the summer. Vacation Bible School is a week-long Bible club filled with crafts, music, refreshments, recreation and Bible stories. There are many ways you could be involved, and I am sure your church is in need of additional workers.

Whatever your summer holds, I encourage you to look for ways to be used by God to make a difference in the lives of others. What I have found in my almost fifty summers is that if your main focus is on yourself, you will find the summer passing much too quickly and all your effort, money and time spent. On the other hand, if you give your summer to God and invest your time, effort, money and happiness in the lives of others, you will find that your investment will pay rich dividends throughout the rest of the year. In fact, many of the investments made may continue to bear fruit into eternity.

Let this be the greatest summer of your life as you give it to the Lord Jesus Christ and invest yourself in the lives of others. Then when someone asks what you did this summer, you’ll have so many great memories you won’t know where to begin.