Winter is coming on the earth around me. Snow swirls between
the trees and is now sticking to the hardening ground. Above the Sand Hill
Cranes are screaming their eerie cry as if mourning the loss of summer and fall
as they begin their descent south to warmer climbs. The leaves have turned from
yellows, oranges and reds, blowing brown around the dead flowerbeds. Only the
buckthorns’ green leaves hold hard to their thorny branches, bearing black
berries for the lingering birds of winter to eat as they decide if they too
will fly south. It is Thanksgiving, so we should be praising God from whom all
blessings flow. In fact I just recorded a radio show on Riverwest Radio, Just Talking- “Thankfulness.” We are in for long months of
increasing darkness and the colder weather of winter. Dark will be the skies
and the trees naked branches reaching upward as if praying for mercy and
rebirth. Resurrection is a ways off until the spring.
Our Lord has written the promise
of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime. —Martin Luther.
Is this a time of “soul sleep” or death? Our bodies may die
and our leaves may fall, but our spirits and souls can live forever. Are we
reincarnated, as some believe as a grasshopper or rabbit? Or are we to become a
human again to relive our first broken lives in greater victory? I look out on the forest behind our home
again. The tree branches are a dark maze of crisscrosses against the winter sky.
They appear harsh and unyielding, yet with a certain grace. The cross of
Calvary is like that. It stands in stark relief against the darkening skies,
naked like our Savior was. But the cross is empty as the angel told the women, “Do
not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He
is not here; He has rise, just as He said” (Matthew 28:5-6). This is
the promise of the resurrection. This is the promise of life everlasting and
the transformation through Jesus Christ to be “born again” to new life in Him
who lives forever. Yes, we can live forever. We have a choice, unlike the trees
and their leaves. We can choose to receive the gift of life in Christ through
His death and resurrection or not. The difference is life or death eternal, one
in His bright presence in heaven, the other away from His “Light” in the
darkness of hell. All must choose for all will die. But some will live again
and their leaves will be those of springtime, green and new.
It is a time to contemplate and rest, as we put away our
toys of summer. Some take out the same for winter, cross-country skiing or shoe
shoeing. Our skis and shoes are ready, our down jackets also against the cold
wind. I will ski 18-holes on a nearby course where I played through the rough
in summer, losing balls. The ponds in back are still now as if waiting for the
touch that transforms. Again, God is demonstrating His power to change the
swimming and fishing pond into a hockey rink with the wave of His mighty arm.
It can be a slow transition from water to ice. It is in the “twinkling of an
eye” from death to life. I don’t take down my once blazing hockey skates; you
see my artificial hip says that I will injure myself. Our bodies’ age, but our
spirits can soar up with the migrating birds of fall to be changed again in His
spring.
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus
from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give
life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans
8:11). This power is at work in us who
know the Lord. “The same power that brought Christ back from the dead is
operative within those who are Christ’s. The Resurrection is an ongoing thing” (Leon
Morris). This truth from a Bible scholar
of the ongoing nature of salvation and the resurrection reminds of the process
that will not be perfected until we see God face to face. Not that we will
always be horrible sinners, but it is our state until Christ comes to rule and
reign or the rapture.
We are not reincarnated, but “transformed
by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2). We are “living sacrifices” or servants of
God. We may go through seasons of change, but we do not lose our leaves, they
just slowly age. However, as we grow and age in Christ, “Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone,
the new is here!” (2Corinthians 5:17). Our bodies start aging in our 20s, but our
spirits are growing in Christ as we become brand new in Him.
Does my
life really show it? Well, yesterday I spoke out of frustration at church, as
we were a little late for the prayer with those who would be greeting and
serving the congregation and visitors. This was sad timing, yet very revealing
and guilt producing. Thank God this Thanksgiving week for the One who says, “If
we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify
us of all unrighteousness” (1John 1:5). Thank you Jesus! He is
“purifying” our bodies and changing us to be more like Him from season to
season. The “fall” was our autumn season as well as long winter until the
spring of resurrection life. Martin Luther grasped this resurrection
thought in his comment written above.
Enjoy the changing seasons thoughtfully. Winter follows fall
and spring follows winter. The summer is coming again, and so should our
transformation along with it. Look to the “Light” in the darkness and cold.
Clothe yourself in God’s word as well as warm clothes. They will not return
void, but accomplish their purpose as Isaiah 55 tells us. And so as this winter
season comes, be filled with the Holy Spirit and give thanks to the Lord, for
He is good, His love endures forever. AMEN
Riverwest- "Thankfulness" https://soundcloud.com/riverwestradio/17-00-00-just-talking-36
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts.