Romans 15:13 Radiant with Hope
“May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in your faith, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, your whole life and outlook may be radiant with hope” (Phillips).
The droplets of a spring rain on the petals of pink flowers bring us hope for the coming season. Spring is here! Winter is definitely over, and hope has arrived with the first few flowers of spring. We seem to get a natural feeling of joy and a sense that good things lie ahead. We could quote the Scripture above and say, “That’s what I mean.”
It’s probably not a coincidence that spring comes at the same time of the year as the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord. Springtime brings us hope and joy, but the hope and joy brought to us by the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord by far surpasses that brought by the change of season. The leaves that clothe the trees with hope in the spring give way to the mature, darker green leaves of summer that speak of our lives here on earth. That is, lives that are finite. The green leaves turn into gloriously colored leaves in the fall before they drop to the ground and are crunched underfoot. As we mature in Christ, we grow into mature believers who are capable of gathering new ones to the fold. In later life, we may be better used to change into sources of wisdom for younger believers. There comes a time when our physical body ceases living and is buried in the ground. But we have two things that no other part of creation has, soul and spirit. After we leave our physical body behind, our soul and our spirit live on into eternity.
Trees shed their leaves each fall and have to grow new ones in the spring. We could say that the life of the tree is resurrected each spring. That’s not true for us. Jesus Christ died a physical death once so that we might have a glorious eternal life with Him. No more decay in our lives, only the joy of living eternally in heaven IF we accept the sacrifice of Jesus. IF we don’t accept the sacrifice of Jesus, we will still live eternally, but never in the presence of God or in the presence of those of us who have received Jesus as Savior. Those who deny Jesus will wish to be able to die in order to escape torment. So, I encourage you, I ask you, I implore you to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Then we will meet some day in heaven.