A Foretaste of Spring!

I don’t know about you, but I am done with winter and ready for spring!  Well, earlier this week, hope was birthed in me for I experienced a little foretaste of that which is to come.  As I drove up to my office here at the church, I noticed that the daffodils along the side of our office building had bloomed!  As I looked at them I realized it was still only February (actually it was February 28) and spring was yet almost a month a way!  In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen daffodils, nor any other flowers, bloom so early in the season.  But, those daffodils said to me, spring is on its way! 

Daffodils blooming by the office. Picture taken February 28th 

Today it’s much colder out; winter has come back for at least a few days.  Yet, as I once again saw those daffodils this morning, they seemed to continue to say, winter is almost past; the longer, warmer days of spring and summer are almost here! In fact we might say, those daffodils are a little taste of what is ahead.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we look forward to the day in which we will enter into eternity with him; the day in which we will experience the light and warmth of his glory. In the meantime, however, we often find ourselves living in a world that can seem like a very long winter. As C.S. Lewis put it, ours feels like a world that is “always winter but never Christmas” (“The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”).  Yet, God gives to us a foretaste of what is ahead; a means to keep on looking ahead filled with faith and hope.  As the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and Christ takes up residence within us, God begins to fill us even now with the light and warmth of his glory.    

So, the Apostle Paul wrote of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27 –NIV)  Elsewhere he wrote, “He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22 – NIV) 

Your life might feel like winter today, but know that God has guaranteed to you, and to all who believe, an eternity filled with the light and warmth of his glory!  Even now, he wants to give you a foretaste of that which is ahead as you entrust your life to him.  He wants to fill you with hope. After all, spring is on its way!

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris