Hope Is In the Air!
As I
was outside yesterday morning, I couldn’t help but notice that finally the
trees are budding, the crocuses and tulips are breaking through the
winter-hardened ground, and the birds are back in full force, singing their
springtime arias. Spring is in the air.
Actually, hope is in the air—the hope that the long, cold winter is over; the
hope that life is returning to nature and soon everything will once again be
green!
I
like to define hope as, the expectation
that tomorrow will be better than today. Hope gives us something to which
to look forward. Hope tells us that the difficulties of our current situation
are not the end of the story; there is something more, something better to
come. Throughout the winter, we all tend
to fluctuate between hope and despair. But, when springtime finally arrives,
hope is propelled. We receive a bit of
evidence that we are actually moving towards something better, towards newness
of life.
That’s
what the resurrection of Jesus was and is all about. There was a time when
Jesus’ disciples fluctuated between hope and despair. They wanted to believe
that things would get better, yet the situations around them spoke just the
opposite. But, then Jesus rose from the dead! And, hope bloomed in a way they
could never have expected. From that day forward, those disciples knew that, no
matter what might come their way in life, there was always hope; they went on
to live with the expectation that tomorrow will be better than today! With Jesus’ resurrection, hope was born—the
hope that life would never again be the same.
Currently,
my family and I are going through some of the most difficult times we have ever
faced. It can be quite overwhelming as
we care for two parents who are in decline at the same time. The stress easily
builds. And, hope is easily lost. But, during this resurrection week, I am
reminded that what we see and experience in times like these is not the end of
the story. There is hope. There is something better ahead. Jesus is alive and
thus I (we) can expect that he will not only give us the grace to make it
through times like these, but he will bring about something beautiful in his
time. His resurrection power brings to
us the hope that one day death will be overtaken by life, and all things will be
made new!
“Praise be to the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new
birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead….” (1 Peter 1:3 – NIV)
This week, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord
Jesus Christ, may we remember and celebrate the hope that his resurrection has
brought into our lives. Hope is in the air!
Have a great day!
Pastor Tim Harris
Comments
Post a Comment