Slogging through the dog days

The “dog days” are here. High heat and high humidity during July and August are what we call the “dog days.” I’m not sure why these days are particularly attributed to dogs. Perhaps it has to do with the dog seeking a cool spot to lie down and pant. Actually, that’s kind of what I do on days like these. The point about the “dog days” is this; It is HOT.

So, by now you are wondering why I even mention this. What do the “dog days” have to do with Church? Well, I am glad you asked.

As winter winds down and the cool, wet, spring moves in, we look forward to summer. We look forward to being outside and on the river or at the beach. Traditionally summer is vacation time, so travel is in the offing. We imagine all the neat things we can do, while we bundle up in the winter. What we don’t think about is that summer also brings hot days that we must slog threw just to get our tasks done.

The same is true when following Christ. Many churches preach that if you accept Christ as your personal savior, everything will be fine. It will be wonderful, and joy will abound. What they often neglect to point out is that even in following Christ, there will be some “dog days.”

You see, we live in a world that isn’t always friendly to the idea of God, or the idea of a savior who died for our sins. There are many who would prefer you just go on your merry way and not talk about Jesus. There are also the denominational one-upmanships that happen between different churches. You know what I am talking about, the condemnation of churches that are not like ours, and such.

Christ himself went through “dog days.” He faced days of heat from the Pharisees. He begged that the cup of sacrifice be taken away. He prayed for his disciples until he sweated blood. He went to the cross. As followers of Christ, we need to expect and accept “dog days” with all the other days. We need to look forward to the challenges that following Christ can put in front of us.

Being a disciple was never going to be easy. The requirements that God calls for us to adhere too, are sometimes difficult. Many people will balk at them, but you and I can’t. We must slog through the spiritual “dog days.” Why, you ask? Because we are supposed to love God and our neighbor. We slog through the “dog days” because our neighbor needs us too. We work in the heat of the sinful world because people need to know Christ. We take the abuse of the non-believers, because they too need to hear the Good News of Christ. Following Christ is not a stay in the shade kind of job. We go where people need to hear and learn about Christ. We can’t let “dog days” stop us from leading people to Christ.

Just a thought.

See you in church.

Rev. Kent Wilfong is the pastor at the United Methodist Church, Doniphan/Neelyville.