Before I get started, let’s lay the cards out on the table: I absolutely love thunderstorms. Thunderstorms are pretty much my favorite weather. That was probably very badly written, but you get my point.
I think that thunderstorms show nature’s humanity. It’s almost as if the sky has been holding everything in for far too long, and when the pressure becomes too much it explodes in an awe-inducing display of power. When you think about it, of all the ways nature could channel its aggression (tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc), thunderstorms are probably the least destructive option. All things become new when washed in the rain. It’s beautiful.
People are like that too. We all have moments when we crack, when we explode, when whatever is inside of us is suddenly too much to be contained. We are forces of nature just as much as the thunderstorm.
However, what defines us isn’t so much how we explode or even how often, I think that the true test of character lies in what comes out of us when we snap.
Because whatever’s inside of us is what’s going to come out when we break. The contents of our hearts will seep through the cracks of our broken facade and permeate the world around us.
If we fill our hearts with anger or vindictiveness or selfishness or whatever, THAT is what is going to explode into the world around us. On the flip side, if we fill our hearts with patience, or gentleness, or love, or kindness, or self-control, or whatever, then THAT is what we’re going to douse others with. It’s the difference between a violent tornado and a cleansing rainstorm.
So sometimes life happens all at once. Sometimes the pressure builds and builds until it breaks free. And that is okay. God did not design us to hold everything in always. But the point is that if we allow the Spirit of Christ to fill our hearts with good things, we don’t have to be afraid of the storms.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
