Original Entry: March 10, 2008
McMinnville, OR
I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Revelation 2:19
There are at least four seasons of a sportsman’s life.
The first is what I call the “Killing Season” in which the theme of this time of life is, “If it flies, it dies. If it is brown it is down!” Anything legal is shot. Rather, it is shot at since hitting stuff in this phase is another story. In this season of life, learning to love the hunt is the key. This is when I got my license, shot my first buck, killed my first dove with a bolt action .410 and was now able to hunt with the men.
The next season entered was what I call the “Trophy Season” during which a sportsman begins to practice catch and release, selective shooting (such as only drakes while duck hunting), and passes on smaller antlered creatures in search of a greater trophy. That trophy can be larger antlers or a larger overall challenge, similar to Aldo Leupold’s trophy definition that a true trophy is measured in effort not inches.
Thirdly, as a sportsman’s children mature he may find oneself oscillating in and out of the “Guide Season.” During this season he considers the most beneficial sporting opportunities for his children. Success is no longer defined by the kill but the success of his children.
As a man ages and his body can no longer do what it used to do a man transitions into a season called the “Legacy Season” when a man finds the simple joy in being on the hunt with those he loves the most. Yes, he may take the gun or fishing poles and go through the motions, but true fulfillment during this season of life revolves around nurturing the relationships with trusted friends and loved ones. It is in this season when a man will pay to have others experience the outdoors successes he had in the earlier seasons of his life.
As I look at these seasons they have one thing in common. Each season carries greater influence over others that the previous one. Each reflects the journey of manhood moving from the immature selfishness of youth to the seasoned legacy of love.
A man also flows through seasons of faith in a similar way. Paul acknowledged this when he wrote, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me” (1 Corinthians 13:11).
Spiritual manhood is discovered as a man begins, “doing more than (he) did at first” (Revelation 2:19). In other words, as a man mature spiritually his influence and biblical stewardship will increase. If he is influencing the same amount of souls (or less) in his latter years of life as he did in the former days of his youth, he has failed transition through his seasons of faith.
A man should be aware of his past as he strives to grow through the seasons of his life. His thoughts should be that of the psalmist who wrote, “I thought about the former days, the years of long ago” (Psalm 77:5). He lives in the tension of remembering his past and fighting to grow beyond it.
