LIFE MADE ANEW
Pastor Lynda MacDonald, Nova Scotia
All around our house are the signs of
spring. The robins are back from a winter vacation. Tulip and crocus stems are
beginning to peep through the ground. The Bleeding Heart is pushing up through
the old growth that is left over from last year.
It reminds me of a beautiful scripture
in the Song of Solomon 2:10-12, “For you see that the winter has passed, the rain is finished
and gone, the flowers are appearing in the countryside, the time has
come for the birds to sing, and the cooing of doves can be heard in the land.”
The earth is coming back to life –it
is feeling the warmth of the spring sun and is responding. The dark winter days
are fading and early in the morning the sun is waking us up to get out of bed
and enjoy the day. HalleluYah for the renewed life of
this planet we live on. The next sign I always wait for is the croaking of the
frogs that tells me they are up out of the mud and ready for another year.
What a spiritual picture of us as
believers. There was a time before we walked in salvation (life) that our lives
were just like the winter –death like. Inside we were cold and darkness ruled.
There was no great beauty to see and although – like the birds and plants
–there was still life- that life was not productive. It just existed!
THEN - in came THE SON!! His warmth
and presence gave us newness of life. The darkness fled and was replaced with
light. New growth sprang forth as this little flower took on a new look. 1
Peter 2:24 sums it up –“He himself bore our sins in his
body on the stake, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness - by
his wounds you were healed. For you used to be like sheep gone astray,
but now you have turned to the Shepherd, who watches over you.”
How about 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone
is united with the Messiah, he is a new creation - the old has passed; look;
what has come is fresh and new!” There are
signs of spring. It is time to rake up the old junk from the past and make room
for the new growth to come forth.
We have 8
flower beds on our property. Each one has diverse types of flowers: hostas, myrtle, lily of the valley, Solomon’s
Seal, Mint, oregano, Japonica bushes, roses, lilies, irises, etc. Each
one has a unique look and fragrance but all are alive and beautiful. They
require tending, fertilizing, watering and a lot of love. The more we care for
them, the more they give back. If we are very careful in the handling of them,
they ever produce more in kind. We get to share with others this gift from our
creator.
Some plants
like the mint, oregano and lily of the valley will get unruly if not properly
disciplined and a boundary set around them. They not only end up where they
should not but they get wild and if left unattended, become good for nothing.
Only a lot of hard work and cutting away will restore them.
Believers are
much like that. We need to keep under the careful watch of our Gardner –Yeshua.
He will discipline us and steer us as to where we should go and how we should
act. If we stray, he is willing to lead us back; cut out the junk that got in;
show us the safe guidelines for living to keep us from becoming useless to him.
Only if we submit to him can we produce goodness and our beauty shine forth.
I want to share
with you a cute little poem we learned as youngsters. May it cause a smile to
cover your face.
“Spring has
sprung
The grass has riz
I wonder where
the flowers is?
The bird is on
the wing-
Ain’t
that absurd.
I’d always
heard
The wing is on
the bird.”
…………
