Friday, April 9, 2010
John 14:19 "Because I live, you shall live also."
AFTER A WINTER OF DISCONTENT
For many of us in the Midwest the winter has been hard and long. In our moments of weakness we forget that the severity of it that makes us uncomfortable is a consequence of sin. We forget also that snow itself is a blessing of God beneficial to the earth. The end result of forgetfulness is irritableness, and a consequent useless activity of lamentation.
But then spring approaches. Our heavenly Father has seen to that also. The sun is higher in the sky; it is warmer, the air begins to smell fresher, the flowers begin to peek out, and the birds begin to sing; the trees turn from bud to leaf. Then we tend to forget that which was, for the joy of spring and finally summer.
The message of Easter is like that, and has the same effect as the spring with the summer following. In these days we need say it clearly. We need to speak what according to Scripture is the obvious. Christ Jesus, our Savior, is risen from the dead -- bodily. Easter is also the message that God the Father keeps His promise. Even now we rejoice in the fact of the resurrection, and in the promises of which it is the foundation: "Because I live, you shall live also" (Jn. 14:19).
This is the ultimate restoration of joy, the ultimate breath of fresh air for all who believe and trust in Jesus, our risen Lord. The end to our winter, "For Christ, the Lord, hath risen -- our joy that has no end" (The Lutheran Hymnal, 205).
'Tis the spring of souls today; Christ has burst His prison,
And from three days' sleep in death as a sun hath risen;
All the winter of our sins, long and dark, is flying
From His light, to Whom we give laud and praise undying.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 204).
-- The Lutheran Spokesman, April 1997
