Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
April is at our doorstep. Every morning I walk to the church, it seems like the birds are singing a little more and the leftover piles of snow are a bit smaller. What was dormant is now waking up and coming back to life.
With the change in season, I also feel new energy and excitement waking up in my heart. I find myself eager to see green buds on the trees and bushes. On warmer days, I yearn to go on a walk through the woods with my family, or to sit on the porch reading a book and feeling the warmth of the sun on my neck. It’s nice to have these little reminders of how much I depend on God’s creation.
What about you? How does Spring inspire you? Are you eager to get out your fishing pole, start jogging again, or work in your garden? Whatever it is that Spring awakes in us, we have an opportunity to once again turn our eyes to God, the source and giver of life.
Of course, we could take these gifts and use them to distract ourselves with the vain hope that if we could spend more time doing (insert your favorite Spring activity), we would become happier and more fulfilled people. We can turn nature into an idol. It’s very easy to do; in fact, for thousands of years that is what people did. God gives us so many great gifts through His created world that it can become easy to worship the gift and forget the Giver.
But what if we use Spring to remind ourselves of the greatest gift God has given us? Soon Easter will be upon us. It’s only three weeks away! In that moment when Mary and the other women go to the tomb and find it open and empty, we see that God is the source of life, and that He has the power to raise Jesus from the grave. The miracle of the resurrection doesn’t allow us to confuse the gift with the Giver. God is the creator and sustainer of life, and we see that most fully in the resurrection of Jesus.
So this month while we finish the last few weeks of Lent, let the beauty of nature remind you that God gives you all these precious gifts of Spring. And let those gifts remind you of God’s ultimate gift, the gift of new redeemed life that you have through His Son. When you recognize that nature itself is a sign of God’s love pointing you back to Jesus, you will have every opportunity to rejoice in your salvation!
Blessings,
Vicar Otterman