In just a couple of weeks, summer once again is going to come to a close, and fall is upon us.

When I lived in the North many years ago, this was kind of a depressing thought because I knew that fall meant winter was near. Sometimes, fall was short, which meant winter was early.

For many, they can’t wait for fall just to get away from the heat. Here, I look forward to fall because of the perfect temperatures along with some color in the trees. The best time for fishing is during this season, and even Thanksgiving comes during this time of year. So according to where you live and what you like, fall is either something you look forward to or a reminder of what is about to come that you’re not going to like.

In biblical times, people worked really hard during the planting, growing and harvest times and looked forward to a time of rest and enjoying the fruit of the harvest in the fall. Israelites couldn’t always look forward to this during times when they neglected God because they were threatened by enemy forces. They were not guaranteed to be able to enjoy this time of year. Jeremiah 8:20 reflects this thought: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended and we are not saved.” God was their only hope.

We all live our lives, work hard, invest, save and look forward to a time of retirement, which most are able to attain in some form or another. The problem is that life doesn’t end there; some die early, but the truth of the matter is that we all are going to die sometime. Even if we are able to enjoy the fruit of our labor, it’s not going to be forever. There easily could be a Scripture that says, “Our time of labor is past, our life is ended and we are not saved.”

Again, it doesn’t have to end this way. God is our only hope.

The problem for Israel and many today is that they neglect the most-important thing. They might prepare for their future materially, but they neglect the spiritual. The Scriptures teach us that we all will end up somewhere — heaven or hell — and believe it or not, the choice is ours.

What is your destination when your summer has ended?