Spring is here!
Most of us know that spring marks the end of the blistering winter and is a transitional period to the scorching summer. There is no better indicator of spring than birds chirping outside your window and it is said that many animals reproduce in the spring, when temperatures are warmer and food is plentiful. Baby bunnies, ducklings, chipmunks, and other adorable animals abound come spring. Studies also show that being outdoors during spring increases your creativity and mood levels making spring one of the most loved seasons in the year.
Springtime was the best when we lived on the East Coast. We lived about 20 mins from DC and the Tidal basin would be bursting with a beautiful display of floral fireworks. Thousands of tourists would be visiting to take a walk all around the area which have trees lined up with the delicate blooms drooping down, while being mirrored on the water below, and I remember thinking "this is like a fairytale". It was just breathtaking! After months of the cold winter everything would slowly be coming back to life. The burst of bloom everywhere assuredly signified a resurrection.
I believe that Easter or Resurrection Sunday fits perfectly in this season!
The word Resurrection means a 'raising up', or 'rising up' from the Greek word ‘anastasis’. In the verb form it means 'to cause to stand or rise up; to raise from sleep or from the dead'. This week, as I was reading through the usual scriptures leading to Easter Sunday, these words caught my eye...
“…Surely He was the son of God!”
As I read this, I thought "Exactly!" This was what Jesus had been saying from the beginning - that He is the Son of God and in this moment, right after Jesus cried out in a loud voice and gave up His spirit, there was an earthquake and the Centurion along with the Roman soldiers who were guarding Jesus exclaimed these words!
It often takes the death of something, in this case someone, to open our eyes to the truth of what was there all along in front of our eyes. The best tributes are often given at funerals when a person has passed away, leaving me to wonder, did the person know when they were alive of the impact they had on the people around them? The people who lived when Jesus walked the earth failed to recognize who He is. It took His death for their eyes to be opened to the truth of what He had been saying all along. Like the centurion and many others we may have been blinded by our own beliefs or unbelief. Like them we may have misunderstood situations or simply been party to something that we didn't have the faintest clue would lead to the loss or death of things in our lives. Whatever it may be - If like them, you feel that you lost out, let me assure you that it was not the end, not for them and not for you.
I am certain the Centurion and those with him regretted how they had treated Jesus. Imagine coming to the realization that the person they had crucified was the Son of God! They must have gone home feeling a sense of doom over their lives... and that is how most of us feel with certain situations in our lives. As days passed by they must have tried to make sense of everything and looked back to see if there was anyway they could have salvaged the situation or gotten out of it but all the analyzing and introspection probably drove them insane. Some of us have been there, trying to figure out how did we get so blindsided, how did we not understand, how did we lose perspective and how did our actions lead to this loss...this death.
But on that third day, just like the centurion and others who heard the faint whispers that Jesus was back... He had been resurrected... He who was dead is now alive! - found that their greatest fears were assuaged.I hope that you will find your fears will be relieved too, because He is alive and He is able to resurrect all that has been lost. Those of us who recognize the things that have died in our lives whether it be relationships, careers, ministry or loved ones should know that it is not the end...there is a resurrection if we believe!
I say this with confidence because I needed one around the end of 2019 and I tell you without a shadow of doubt, that there is no one who does a better job of bringing things back to life and reviving those dead places, situations or relationships than THE ONE who has always been synonymous with the word resurrection – Jesus.
Just like spring that comes back year after year, He is able to bring back to life all the things we have lost and revive those dreams and hopes that have died inside of us in the days gone by. When I would see the Tidal Basin, I knew that it had God’s handiwork written all over it and all we need to do is allow Him to bud, blossom and bloom those areas that are dormant or dead, so all may see and know His handiwork in our lives too! I want to invite you to put your hope and trust in Jesus and believe that He who rose from death to life can do that in your lives too... Happy Easter!
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,
forever and ever! Amen” – Ephesians 3:20
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