SPRING… at last, some may say!
A season of new awakenings, new life, new hope. Bright, yellow daffodils lining the grass verges and re-appearing in our gardens, along with other Spring flowers, after a year of sleeping below the ground. Lambs skipping in the fields once more, mother ducks leading their line of fluffy little ducklings down the river, chicks hatching from the warmth and protection of their shells. New beginnings for us all.
Spring is a season, one of four, that come round every year, in their familiar and reassuring way. Unplanned and with no preparation needed… it just happens…and it lifts our spirits. Just a little sunshine, a few bright flowers, longer days… and we begin to feel better, brighter and lighter. We wake each morning with more energy and more enthusiasm, more inclined to go out and appreciate the signs of new life around us.
And with Spring comes the season of Easter – a joyful time of celebration, but we cannot skip straight to the joy of Easter Sunday without first reminding ourselves of the events of Holy Week. The ordeal of the trial, the horrific beating, whipping and mocking of Jesus on Good Friday, leading to his public and painful death on the cross. Yet as he hung there, we must remember it was not for His sins that he died, but for ours… for us. For me and for you.
‘What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.’
Stuart Townend & Keith Getty Copyright © 2005, Thankyou Music
The pain and suffering that Jesus endured, and his ultimate death, proved a powerful point. Jesus has paid the price… once… and for us all.
And now we can celebrate the joy of Easter… A season of new awakenings, new life, new hope. The resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday came as a shock, a surprise… and then a time of celebration. ‘He is not here. He has risen’ (Matthew 28:6) is the message the angel told the women when they went to the tomb. Confirmation that Jesus has come back to life, as He promised.
This moment marks a pivotal point in our Christian belief, marking the victory over death and the promise of eternal life.
Whatever difficulties we are facing in our lives right now, whatever we may have to face in the future, we have hope. We have the assurance that Jesus will be with us always, even to the end of time… and we have the promise of eternal life.
May this season of Easter awaken in us a new life, a new hope.
‘There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing
hope to you and me. From the past will come the future; what it holds,
a mystery, Unrevealed until its season, something
God alone can see.’
Hymn of Promise. Natalie Sleeth (1986)
Jenny Gibbs