Spring is Springing!

Happy First Day of Spring!  It will roll in at 5:24 this afternoon.  I’m expecting to see full-bloom crocuses and tulips in the garden tomorrow.  I expect to never see the fall of another snowflake until December.  I expect motorcycle-ready clean roads by next week.  After all, it’s Spring!

Normally, we associate new beginnings with the New Year.  But why not the Spring?  After all, we spring clean, prep our gardens, and finally get to open the windows to air out the house.  The days are getting longer and soon we will be enjoying our patios - even if it is just to use the BBQ again.  

Spring is a time to be renewed and refreshed.  (It’s also a time for March Winds and April Showers, but I’m not going to complain about that . . . much.)  Here are some truths to help us spring clean our minds and hearts:

#GraceTrumpsGuilt - This has been a core idea we have embraced from the beginning of Q50.  God’s grace can overwhelm everything.  There is nothing we have done or have been that is beyond His redemption and repurposing.  The Christophobic Saul became the Christocentric Paul.  The lying, cheating Abram became the faithful Abraham.  The stuttering Moses became the prolific orator of Almighty God.

There are no second chances with God.  Every time #GraceTrumpsGuilt, God grants us a new, fresh page on which to begin writing the next chapter of our lives.  Sometimes the edges of the page may show a little wear and tear from the consequences of previous choices, but the page itself is fresh and clean.  Embrace today as a new start!  It is another “first chance” with God.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  Yes, that is a quote from Genesis 1:1.  And it is (without exaggeration) the most important verse in the Bible.  If God didn’t create, He wouldn’t be able to redeem.  If God didn’t create, there would be no purpose or value to creation.  Because God did create all that exists, we are His image-bearers.  In other words, there is meaning and purpose to life.  Our greatest responsibilities are to represent the King in His Kingdom and steward the resources of the Creator in His creation.  Moses summarized this in the story of Cain and Abel.  After murdering his brother, Cain asks God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  It is a rhetorical question.  The obvious answer is, “YES!”  That’s because God created us.

There is no power in prayer;  the One to whom we pray holds all power and authority.  Praying is not about mechanics, techniques, eloquence, or having an elite status before God.  It IS about having the confidence that He does care for us.  He encourages us to express our faith in Him using whatever words, feelings, postures, or tears are necessary. We confess our submission to His sovereignty, dependence on His providence, and loyalty to His Kingdom.  This has been our Spiritual Adventure (if you’ve missed our studies on prayer, you can catch up here).  

All truth is God’s truth.  This is because of Genesis 1:1.  If something is true, it has its ultimate source in God.  All of creation is saturated with God’s truth - not just theology.  The sciences, humanities, and arts can all reflect the beauty and truth of God.  Our faith shouldn’t be reduced to a cerebral, coma-inducing brainiac definition of God.  We can enjoy His goodness in every area of creation.  As the natural world awakes from its winter slumber, look for opportunities to see the beauty of God.  As you enjoy music, admire a painting, engage with literature, or change the oil in your motorcycle, put air in the tires of your bicycle, or paint a bedroom, reframe the moment and experience as a gift of God’s goodness, truth, and beauty.

Let’s find the refreshment and renewal of Spring in every corner of our lives.  It’s not just a “religious” thing.  Let’s find new ways to see and enjoy the grace and goodness of God.  Let’s commit to using our hearts and minds to know Him, enjoy our relationship with Him, and be satisfied by Him.  

May Spring spring to life the joy of being reconciled to our Creator.  And may we live with such spring-like joy that it causes others to ask for the reason for the hope that is within us.

HAPPY SPRING!