So often when I look from my sunroom, I am awed by the beauty around me. This is true at all times of year, but especially during the spring. The grass is green and lush and new. There are splashes of brilliant color everywhere; trees, flowers, bushes. Even the dandelions look brilliant. You know what I am talking about; you have seen it too. At this time of year, when spring overtakes winter, it is hard to miss the beauty of God's creation around us.
All the newness and beauty reminds me of God's promise: "Behold, I make all things new!" (Revelations 21:5). This is the promise that Jesus Christ makes to us, as He tells us of a new heaven and new earth which is to come, when God's people will live in the very presence of God, and there will be no more tears or death or pain. I think: "Wow, if this is beautiful, what will that be like?" What a promise God has given us!
This promise of God is not only for the future, but for the here and now. Each new spring God reminds us of this. Each Easter as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, God reminds us that the same resurrection power which raised Jesus from a dark, cold tomb is available in our lives as well, not just at some glorious endtime.
"Behold, I make all things new!" is a promise for you and me today! Even on the coldest, grayest day of winter when life seems gone from earth, God's resurrection promise says to us: "Behold, I make all things new!" and then spring reminds us that promise is true. Even in the difficult times when all hope seems gone, God's resurrection promise says to us, "Behold, I make all things new." And in the most unexpected ways and at the most unexpected times, God reminds us that the promise is true.
There is no circumstance in our lives from which God's resurrection power cannot bring to us new life. Not one! As surely as God brings spring out of the dead of winter, God's resurrection power can bring new life for us. God's promise is our sure hope, not just some far away tomorrow, but for today.
May each spring bud and flower remind each of us of God's promise of new life. And may that promise be the sure hope on which we stand.
Pastor Diann O'Bryant is the minister of Gilman United Methodist Church, 312 Gilman St., Marietta. Thoughts of Faith is a weekly column written by various ministers and lay people. Those interested in scheduling a date for writing a Thoughts of Faith column should contact Christy Hudson at 376-5446 or chudson@mariettatimes.com. Or, if a Thoughts of Faith column is written at the writer's convenience and sent to The Times, it will run the first available date.
