March is the month spring officially arrives. You never know what it’s going to be like, especially here in central Illinois, but the thought of springtime is a welcome one for most people. Even the weird ones, like me, who love snow and cold, have a hard time not getting excited about lengthening days and warming temperatures.
But maybe you noticed this winter has not been a particularly harsh one. Practical-ly a ripoff as far as snow is considered. This does not mean that spring is not welcome, especially to most people, who dislike colder weather. It does mean, however, that we may not long for it like we would after months of sub-zero temperatures and feet of snow. Spring comes now as a welcome guest; Spring came last year like a hero to the rescue.
My first thought, theologically, is that the greater our suffering now, the more we will appreciate the return of Christ. To borrow a line from Shakespeare, “Now is the winter of our discontent…” but summer is coming! Hang in there, be faithful to the end, and your reward will indeed be great! Certainly there is truth there, but it is not the whole truth. For one thing, I’m taking Shakespeare out of context, and I’ll show you how in a bit. For another, it lays on us an unnecessary burden; as if, unless I am suffering greatly now, I cannot fully appreciate the imminent return of Jesus.
I am not suggesting that my eagerness for His return at this moment is as great as that of someone being tortured for his faith, or someone who is suffering in an imme-diate and tangible way. All I’m saying is that we are missing something important about God and His kingdom if we think Heaven is all there is. In Luke 4, we read that Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and read from Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
He then said “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Today. Now. Jesus started ushering in the redemptive work of God 2,000 years ago. He did more than promise things would be better when He came back; He started doing the works of His Father while He still walked the earth as a man! And He finished His work at the cross. Now, we must be careful; don’t buy into the notion that it can be as good right here, right now, as it will when the whole world is under His reign, when we are in the manifest presence of our Creator and Father. Whatever joy and comfort we experience here and now, we cannot get around the fact that we are experiencing them in the midst of a fallen, sinful, broken world.
But we, in the middle of all that brokenness, are made whole. In the midst of all the darkness, He has already made us light. He has given us knowledge of Him-self among people whose minds are blinded. It is written in 2 Corinthians 4:6:
For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
See? That has already happened! It’s not “Now is winter, but summer’s com-ing.” Shakespeare’s quote (from Richard the Third, by the way) continues, “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer…”! The most important thing mankind has ever needed or waited for has already happened! The second coming is certainly the next big thing, but He has already shone His light, knowledge, and glory in our hearts! We should revel in that, for sure, but the world needs to see that in us.
Enjoy it for you.
Live it FOR OTHERS.
