Spring is my favorite time of the year. Everything is new. Hyacinths are trying their noble best to poke their buds through the cold constraint of the winter-bound earth. Migrating waterfowl bring new sounds as they honk and quack their way to their final nesting places. This year the spring peepers in our area were “winter peepers” as they feebly squeaked their greetings to the arriving spring in mid-February. Tree buds are swelling, waiting to burst forth in full glory.
Oh, the magnificence of God’s nature joining forces to proclaim the glory of new life. Surely it must have been during this exuberant time of the year when the Psalmist wrote, “Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity” (Psalms 98:8-9). This display of new life springing from the earth is a beautiful representation of new life found in Christ Jesus. The wonders of the newness of life springing from the deadness of sin cannot be fully displayed by even the best show of God’s creation. It can only be experienced within the soul.
As I write this, I am flying 35,000 feet over the sub-Saharan desert land of Chad and Niger. The stark contrast between the landscape described in the previous paragraphs and the parched desert land hurrying by six miles below me is nearly beyond my comprehension. The dry earth begs for rain as livestock scrounge for anything green to fulfill their appetite. The vast dryness loudly proclaims a reminder of the millions of parched souls who have never heard of the “well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). Millions who never experienced Christ the fountain as described in the Hymn History article in this issue:
Oh! Christ He is the foutain,
The deep sweet well of Love!
The streams on earth I’ve tasted,
More deep I’ll drink above:
There, to an ocean fullness,
His mercy doth expand,
And glory—glory dwelleth
In Immanuel’s land.
At times a yearning stirs in my heart to live the relaxed, relational lifestyle experienced in these impoverished tribal communities. Family and friends are more important than calendars and commitments. As we read in the Sister to Sister article, commitments and busyness can bring us to the overload point when we feel we cannot handle anything more. Read more to learn how to take practical steps to avoid that breaking point.
Most people in this area are Muslims. As I write this, Muslims are in the middle of Ramadan, a month-long season of fasting. They fast from food and water every day from dawn to dusk, even though daytime temperatures exceed 110 degrees. Their rigorous fasting, along with stopping their work to pray many times a day, is driven by a fervent desire to seek forgiveness of sins and obtain enough merit to enter heaven. If they only knew that true grace and mercy comes from God through the salvation of his Son, Jesus Christ. Our works can never bring us into right standing with God. The writer of the article “How to Increase Your Faith” clearly points this out “Faith is one of the basic ingredients in getting right with God. We come into the Christian life (and receive the forgiveness of sins) through faith. . . We abandon all hope for saving ourselves by our own abilities, and instead, we put complete trust in Jesus Christ for our eternal safety.”
As we plant our gardens and watch the trees burst forth in bloom, let us be reminded of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations” (Isaiah 61:11).
Blessings to all,
Edward Martin
