Spring

According to the calendar spring is only a few days away, but I think it has arrived. Why do I think this?  I saw the first flower of spring.  It is one of those yellow flowers that you see in the spring.  I am not talking about a daffodil or a jonquil or a buttercup as we called them.  I am talking about a dandelion.  If the dandelions are blooming spring must be here.

Spring.  It is the time of year when spirits are lifted.  The days grow longer, the sun shines more, the air is warmer, the nights cool but not cold, and there are flowers blooming everywhere.  Such an explosion of color after the dull, drab brown of winter. The appearance of spring with all the indicators mentioned above lift our spirits by seeing these indicators that the weather is improving.

We know when spring arrives we can once again get outside and enjoy those outdoor activities.  The time to garden, go for walks in the woods, visit the mountains, fish, walk on the beach, etc. has arrived.  No longer confined to the house with the artificial heat of a furnace or wood burning stove or gas logs. Sweaters, heavy winter coats, and gloves are put away for another season. 

Spring also represents the return of hope.  The flowers serve as a representation of the resurrection.  As the first flowers of spring break forth from the cold soil, they represent the return of life.  With that picture they bring hope.  That is the picture the resurrection of Jesus brings. Paul made that application in I Corinthians 15.  He wrote, “For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins.  Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” (I Corinthians 15:16-19).  Paul wrote the Thessalonian church to use the coming resurrection as comfort (see I Thessalonians 4:13-18).

The hope of the resurrection to life (John 5:28,29) belongs only to those who obey the gospel, for Paul also wrote the Thessalonians that when Jesus returns He will come “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:  Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” (2 Thessalonians 1:8,9).

The hope of spring is a gift given to all.  The hope of the resurrection is a gift made available to all through the gospel of Jesus.  The decision to accept or reject the gift made by each individual. What hope do you have beyond the grave today?  Why not begin obeying the gospel today?

—Denny