As I look out the front window of my Study at my home I see the wonderful signs of Spring. Crocus are sprouting up randomly all over the yard. They are beautiful bright little purple flowers that are among the first signs of spring. I stand on my deck and I hear the birds singing and amazingly I see a little bluebird flitting in and out of a bird house I put up at the edge of the woods long ago. A mama has laid her eggs and hopefully tiny little bluebirds will emerge. One never knows in the world of nature as snakes and other birds and other disasters always lurk nearby. But I can hope. I see squirrels running all over the yard. The yellow jonquils are in full array. The ones we planted in the flower beds come out as soon as the warm weather arrives and the sun brings them to life. I especially enjoy the jonquils that emerge in the forest. Squirrels dug up bulbs in the beds and “replanted” them down in the woods. I see the tops of the Jack in the Pulpits starting to emerge and it won’t be long before they come life too. Soon, the Trillium will flower and oh how I enjoy the white tri- leaved wildflowers that came from the mountains of North Carolina. It’s Spring and clearly Spring has sprung!
At the surface level the message is one of the beauty of nature emerging from the long sleep of winter. The plants come to life, the birds sing their love songs. The trees will soon begin to leaf out. Deep in the shade of the forest it will take a little longer than on the sunny side of the neighborhood, but the miracle of life is emerging in all its grandeur. God’s creation is one of amazing beauty.
At a much deeper level the message is one of new life. Where just a few weeks ago I would sworn there was no hope of new life, now new life is everywhere. In the bitter cold of January and February when I admired the beauty of the snow, I would not have been convinced that new life was waiting to be reborn. The ground was frozen and there were no signs of life waiting to be reborn.
Spring is a season of new life. It is a time when God sends us the message that new life is always present beneath the cold of frozen ground. The leaves that fell last fall now renourish the ground that will yield new life in abundance. Where there appeared to be only cold and death now we experience yet again that new life is always being reborn, that where only death appears there was always life waiting to come forth.
Death is not final. It never was. When we lose those we love we grieve and we experience deep loss but not as those without hope. Because Jesus brings life eternal to all who believe in him, we know that where only death seems to be, there is in fact new life being born and the spirits of our loved ones have not gone forever but are safely in the arms of God. Do you believe in eternal life? I do. Do you believe that even when all we see is death that is never the last word. Life changes but it is always with us, in many forms.
This is the message of spring. This is the hope of faith in Christ. May the beauty and message of Spring remind you of the beauty of never-ending faith in the Lord. Each Spring we are always reminded of new life as we watch the landscape around us emerge from its winter rest!
“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; “his mercies begin afresh each morning. Lamentations 322-23″