"And
winter slumbering in the open air, Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!
(Samuel Taylor Coleridge). I love the
springtime, but my mother taught me long ago that contentment in every season
makes a man great. So, you could say, we're leaving a lustrous winter and
entering the grand wonderland of warmth and growth that is the spring of the
year.
It's
a time of renewal. Eli, our 5 year old,
asked me yesterday "Why did God make winter?" Now, I'm no scientist,
but I explained that the world needs some time to rest and recover from working
so hard in the warmer months and they get to do that in the winter. But in the Spring, the world wakes back up
and things that seemed dead and lifeless burst forth with new vigor.
Maybe
your faith is hibernating. Oh, you still "believe," but you haven't
acted on your faith in some time. I pray
that for you, Spring is just around the corner. See, your "faith"
isn't really faith at all if it isn't a "working faith." James wrote
that "faith without works is dead." (James 2:26) But God justifies us
when we ACT on the convictions that His word has placed in our hearts. (James
2:24)
So,
you're tired. You're overwhelmed and
burdened. Jesus calls out "Come to
me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
(Matthew 11:28) The world is renewed
when Spring comes, and your soul can be renewed by the forgiveness and grace
supplied by the blood of Jesus. "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer
self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. " (II
Corinthians 4:16).
