Thoughts on Easter
It has always amazed me how God in His Brilliance chose to set our Easter celebration in the Spring of the year. Now, I’ve always been kind of a “nature guy” myself in that I enjoy seeing how the crocus’ and daffodils and hyacinths act as the harbingers of Spring; how they will go so far as to push themselves up through the snow if they have to, just to announce the changing of the seasons. And quick on their heels come the forsythias, as that bush begins to bud and bloom with a myriad of surprisingly yellow flowers. All of nature comes alive this time of year - which I think makes it the perfect backdrop for Resurrection Day.
Now if you happen to walk through the woods in November, December or January, after a short while, it can start to seem as though everything in sight is as dead as dead can be. Yet faith (and experience) tells us that all IS NOT lost, and that if we are simply patient, we will soon witness another bountiful season of growth.
In many ways, the age we are living in can seem very much the same. Sure, we have a lot of politicians and liberal pundits promoting and defending hideous agendas like the “drag queen story hour” or abortion on demand, student loan forgiveness, defund the police movements, and the “green new deal”. Our government is handing out multiple trillions of our (and that of future generations) hard earned money to lavish on untold millions of illegal immigrants with incredible cash and prizes - in the hope that it will buy them our nation’s upcoming presidential election. And yet, in the midst of all the nonsense, blatant corruption, and unabashed perversion, the church of Jesus Christ is still poking its head up through all the mess to show the world that THERE IS a better way.
The Christian church in America was decimated by the arbitrary and draconian restrictions that the fear of the Covid virus brought with it. Yet our church seems to be slowly and steadily recovering. And my sense is that we are developing stronger and deeper roots than we had before.
Occasionally, we will even hear about miracles - like th e”Asbury Revival” - where a simple chapel service at a Christian university grew into a major awakening for untold thousands of people of faith. Now some might look at the world around us and think that Satan has already won. And Heaven knows there is plenty of evidence for them to cite . . . but our God has NEVER begun a project or a progeam and failed to complete it. Or as Philippians 1:6 says, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
So, the next time you are tempted to give in to discrouragement, look to the daffodils and hyacinths in the garden. Or better yet, look at our Lord’s empty tomb.
Pastor Ed