359. Resurrection
So much can be said on this topic. The excitement of life to begin with, the nurturing of that life and enjoyment of it, and then seeing it slip from your hands. Life beginning to fade. The hopelessness and despair and finality of death. What would we do if there was NO hope? Where would we be if Christ had not risen form the dead? I don't know where I would be. I am in no way qualified to speak here in great details on the matters of life and death. What do I know; what I have I experienced in comparison to so many others? Very little, is the answer. I have but a few small treasures to hold out in my hand for you in regards to this subject. Like a little child with a small and fragile bouquet of wildflowers picked from her
city backyard. Cherished treasures nonetheless.
We had a plant growing on the east side of our house when since we've moved here six years ago now. In the spring, it grows beautiful long slender green leaves. The rounded ends sprout out of the ground in a majestic show. A welcome sight in early spring. Suddenly, one day they began to wilt and die. Tyson carefully watered and cared for them, but it was all in vain. Our beautiful plant despite all our efforts wilted into a pile of brown limp leaves. Months passed and new flowers and plants sprang up. We forgot about our plant as all that remained in its place was bare ground, no signs of life whatsoever. Then, in late summer, to our utter amazement, tall slender stalks began to grow, holding at the top a crown of flower buds, a royal promise. Yes, they bloomed. Beautiful soft pink halo of flowers, delicate yet majestic, rising above all other plants around it. A sight to treasure. I don't know much about plants, but I believe that there are many plants that fit this category of "resurrection" plants. They grow and then seem to die off only to give way to beautiful flowers. They remind me of so many verses. I am so thankful for resurrection and the hope and joy that is securely held in the promise of our future resurrection in Christ.
Some scripture to meditate on:
John 11:25, 26a "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die."
John 12:24, 25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
Romans 14:9 "For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living."
Romans 8:24-25 "For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."
2 Corinthians 5:7 "for we walk by faith, not by sight."
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
A poem to ponder:
Hope and Joy by Christina Rossetti
If hope grew on a bush,
And joy grew on a tree,
What a nosegay for the plucking
There would be!
But oh, in windy autumn
When frail flowers wither,
What should we do for hope and joy,
Fading together?
