Spring is perhaps my favorite time of year. Watching the vibrant colors break forth from the gray of winter and the warmth of the sun push out the cold delights my soul. It’s no wonder God chose this incredible season for the backdrop of Jesus’ death and resurrection—the moment in history when God proved His love can bring forth new life where there was once only barrenness and death.
When we look at the world around us, it can be easy to feel like we are in the dead of a brutally long “winter.” Wars, political strife, sickness, natural disasters, abuse, famine, hatred, and corruption paint a dark and bleak road ahead. When we consider the state of our own souls, it’s not much better. We experience sorrow, shame, failures, hurts, fear, and brokenness that can leave us feeling hopeless. But, it is into this bleak, dark, hopelessness that God, in His mercy and love, brings light and life. As it says in Matthew 4:16 “The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
Springtime is God’s annual, visual reminder of the gift of new life and restoration that He causes to spring forth from the fallow ground of a dying world and of the hard hearts of those who inhabit it. Just as we can bank on spring coming every year, as long as the world turns, so too in greater measure, because of what Jesus accomplished through his death and resurrection, those who trust in the Lord can bank on this: The long “winter” we are living through will one day give way to the eternal spring of new life. Indeed, “God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away…Look, He is making everything new” (Revelation 21:4-5). May this spring season be a sweet reminder of this promise. May you rejoice in the gift of new life. And, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
By Katie Miller
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