All Things New

Yesterday, I was doing something or other around the house, when Eric came up to me, beckoned me with his finger, and said expectantly, "Come 'ere...I want to show you something." He led me to the front door and pointed to a spot in the front yard where three tiny crocuses were peeping up from the grass, stretching their thin purple necks toward the sun's rays -- the first ones to show themselves in our yard this spring.

Premier blossoms of spring always fill me with excitement -- not only excitement for the numerous other green and colorful things that are awaiting their debut from the cold, brown, earth, but also the excitement that comes with the newness of life, the resurrection of things that once seemed dead. In the spring, like no other season of the year, I'm reminded time and again of joyful promises like, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (1 Corinthians 5:17) and "Behold! I'm making all things new!" (Revelation 21:5). Simple things like the first crocuses of the year remind me of the hope we have in Christ, not only for "the next life", but also for this one. Just as crocuses are little glimpses of the wide array of beauty that we will soon enjoy in late spring and summer, so too, little events throughout our days are reminders of the great peace and joy we'll one day experience in their fullness: a welcoming hug from a friend, a happy chat with one's spouse, a kind word from a coworker, a helping hand from a stranger. These types of things are indicators that life is not full of death as we often feel that it is, but instead, glimpses of life are actually all around us, pointing us toward that day when Life will reign supreme. And the more we share that life, the more evident and powerful it will be.

"Your kingdom come, Lord, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." May I be a crocus to someone today.