I don’t know about you, but I am
an Eastern Standard Time kinda guy. I am actually a Central Standard Time kinda
guy because of my love for the Gulf of Mexico and the panhandle of Florida, but
that’s a blog for a different day. With the time change to Daylight Savings
Time (DST) that takes place this coming weekend, I am joining forces with many
church leaders who realize that “springing forward” means jumping into the
worship groove an hour earlier than normal. This reminds me of a quick
conversation Ethan and I had just the other day when he was lamenting the loss
of an hour of sleep. I reassured him that really only mattered for a day or so,
because his body would adjust. The up-side for him is that it will be brighter
later into the day, offering him more time to hang out with the kids in the
neighborhood. It seems this was enough of a payoff for him to reconcile the
loss of that hour of precious sleep.
I am aware that
there are quite a few folks who have mixed feelings about the switch to and
from Daylight Savings Time. The modern idea of daylight saving was first
implemented during World War I. DST was widely implemented following the 1970s
energy crisis and has generally remained in use since that time, though the
practice has been both praised and criticized. Adding daylight to evenings
benefits retailing, sports, and other activities that use sunlight after working
hours,
but can cause problems for evening entertainment and other occupations tied to
the sun. Although an early goal of DST was to reduce evening usage of incandescent
lighting (formerly a primary use of electricity), modern heating and cooling
usage patterns differ greatly, and research about how DST currently affects
energy use is limited or contradictory.[i] All
that being said, I prefer an early to bed and early to rise schedule, but once
summer arrives and the long lazy days are here, I’m quite fond of that, too. And
for the kids who enjoy playing outside later into the day, well, the extra daylight
seems like a godsend.
Speaking of
godsends, when we realize that GOD has blessed us with a lot more than just an
extra hour or so of daylight in the evenings by giving us the One True Light – JESUS! – then life
comes together in ways previously unimaginable. Regardless of how you feel
about the time change that is upon us this weekend, acknowledging that even
when the time comes for us to adjust our clocks and change the way we perceive
the shining of the sun in the sky, the love of GOD shines perpetually for us in
Jesus Christ. For as James 1.17 informs and inspires us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming
down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting
shadows.” This really lends power to the words of John 1.5 and how
Jesus illuminates the darkness of our inner world: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness
has not overcome it.” The light of GOD in Jesus Christ shines forever,
regardless of when our clocks tell us that the sun rises and sets. Regardless
of our time changes year-in-and-year-out, GOD remains the same, so make it a
point to power through whatever weariness you might feel and come celebrate
with us in worship!
If you are like
me, you might greet this coming Sunday with bleary eyes and feeling a bit
sluggish. And remember, the FOCUS Youth are hosting their pancake breakfast
(tickets are still available for $5, so please email
Bobby Totten ASAP), so you can save time by sharing your first meal in
Daylight Savings Time with your church family. So remember to “spring forward”
before going to bed Saturday night and come ready for what promises to be an
awesome Sunday in worship of GOD through Jesus Christ, the brightly shining
heavenly light!!!
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