The
month of March in Minnesota can be a very sad and very depressing month.
For
those of us who have learned to enjoy the cold of winter, it is the month when
ice rinks, ski hills, and lakes, and paths for snow shoes, cross country skiing,
and snowmobiles melt and we pause to join the rest of the residents of the
Minnesota and ask; “Why do we live in this desolate place?”
The
beautiful fresh white snow from the winter turns in to a frozen, dirty, filthy
pile that holds on to every piece of debris that has come across its path over
the long winter.
Even
if the snow does melt, another storm usually comes and dumps a half a foot or
more of snow as a last shot at whatever hope had been arising. “We almost made
it another winter…”, we say to ourselves; “And then someone moved the finish
line and we have another month of winter!”
And those are on the good days…
During
this time period, people tend to not be as “Minnesota-Nice” because their
vitamin D levels are completely depleted and for most days the skies are bleak
and grey and void of hope, causing great sadness.
I had
one of those days last week. Right before we left our house to go to help cook
a meal for church, Cathy and I got into a conversation that quickly ‘went
south’. Our emotions (I blame the string of cloud-filled days cooped up) kept
us from really responding in a loving way.
No
matter what was said, we both reacted as though we didn’t hear what the other
had said and silence became the place where both went to avoid further hurt.
As I
drove, my mind was further drawn into discouragement and isolation by the
bleakness of the sunless skies and dirty snow. My dullness to my emotions was
only shaken as I swerved to avoid the deep crevasses we call “potholes”. All
around me seemed to be death and darkness; not light or life.
Soon
after we arrived, Cathy and I got to work and kept our conversations focused on
the tasks at hand.
At
some point Cathy mentioned to the homeowner where were doing the cooking that
there were tulips up in her yard; adding that they were quite tall.
Tulips;
where did she see tulips amid all of that death and decay? She saw them next to
the same house that I had arrived at. She saw them in the same gardens that I
had walked past; the ones still covered with dead leaves, stick, snow, and
debris.
She
saw something that was always there just below the surface of my reality. Life
was waiting to come up; hope was about to arise.
Later
that evening at our LifeGroup, I was able to share about how I had reacted
wrongly and died to myself in order to bring forth life. I am happy to report
that Cathy and I ended our day on the same page.
My
friends, there is a purpose for the death in order to bring new life that is
waiting to arrive.
The
bleakest month of March in Minnesota is a picture to also remind us that there
is always hope waiting to arise.
Even
beyond the clouds, above the sun was still shining, even though it hadn’t been
seen by us mere mortals here on the earth.
Even
on the darkest day when death seems to have taken over everything, there is
still hope…new life beneath the surface; beyond the death of winter.
A
little over two thousand years ago, a group of men and women spent three days
that were even worse than a Minnesota March that just didn’t seem to end.
These
men and women had stood and watched their friend and teacher Jesus get tortured
by a severe whipping and then stripped naked and brutally nailed to a cross and
left to die; which He did.
Afterwards,
they watched as His lifeless body was placed in a tomb and the tomb sealed with
a very large stone that was rolled in front.
These
men and women were without hope and saw nothing good coming out of this
situation. The coldness of their reality filled them to great despair.
They
had no confidence that hope would arise.
And
yet it did, for after three days, Jesus was resurrected from the death that
tried to hold Him in the grave. Beneath the cold earth life was waiting to
spring forth.
And
because of Jesus’ triumph and victory over death, we too can have confidence
that beneath the surface of our “darkest winter that doesn’t seem to be ending”,
there is hope waiting to arise!
To see
it, we, like Cathy did when she saw the tulips, need to slow down and let the
hope arise.
We
need to let Jesus come to us like He did to the men and women who were in such
despair and hopelessness. We need to let Jesus bring hope in way that ONLY He
can bring it; through His Word (the Bible), through worship of Him, through
spending time with Him.
And
because of His death and resurrection ALL who ask can have new life!
“…One man died for everyone. That puts
everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone
could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than
people ever lived on their own.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15 MSG)
This
new life can be yours TODAY!
“This is
the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came His way so you would know
that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step. He never did
one thing wrong, Not once said anything amiss. They called Him every name in the book
and He said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things
right. He used His servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be
rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You
were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re
named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.” (1 Peter
2:24 MSG)
Need
further help? Someone is waiting to talk with you. Call either:
1-888-NEED
HIM or 1-877-2GRAHAM (1-877-247-2426).
Scripture taken from The Message (MSG) Copyright
© 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene
H. Peterson
