The Kerusso – February | 2024 Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”
Why Do We Have Leap Years?
International General Superintendent Max Edwards We’re all probably aware of it, right? 2024 is going to be an extralong year. February will be a long month. 29 days instead of 28. Why do we do this? We add a day to our year almost every four years so that we stay in sync with the earth’s orbit around our Sun. And yes, you read that right. I said “almost” every four years! The formula is actually more complicated than just having a leap year every four years. The time difference between the actual orbit of the earth and 365 24-hour-days is such that there has to be a way to compensate for the small but growing error. If the year is evenly divisible by 4, it is a leap year, UNLESS it is also evenly divisible by 100. If that is the case, it isn’t a leap year. UNLESS the year is both divisible by 100 AND 400, in which case it is a leap year. Wild, huh? By these rules, the years 2000 and 2400 ARE leap years, while 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300, and 2500 are not leap years. If we observed a leap year EVERY SINGLE four years, after the passage of 6 centuries, the error would be so large that we would be celebrating Christmas in the middle of summer. Why the science lesson? Because as an analogy, it reminds me that if we are not careful, we can drift away from a truly intimate relationship with the Lord, and before we know it, we are completely out of sync with Him. It doesn’t take much - just a little deviation from His Word. Just a little lack of attention to the Spirit’s voice. Just a little compromise here, or a little rebellion there. The Leap Year plan is a systematic way of re-aligning our calendar with our planet’s orbit. And in like manner, it would be to our advantage if we employed a system to make sure we stay in sync with our Savior. Guess what? God has designed just such a system that if followed, will help us to routinely re-align ourselves with Him. Here it is: DAILY DEVOTION – prioritized time hearing His voice by reading His Word, and spending time in prayer. WEEKLY WORSHIP – a day every week that is set aside for reverence and worship. SEASONAL CELEBRATIONS – such as Passion Week / Resurrection Sunday, Pentecost Sunday, and Advent. FINANCIAL FOCUS – making sure that we honor God in our budget by faithful tithing and freewill offerings. If we do these things with a whole heart, we can more confidently remain in sync with the Father, Son, and Spirit.