Driving along a country road the other day, I was struck by the golden fields of canola stretching off into the distance. The roadside was lined with flowering wattles and gum trees and a scented breeze wafted through the open car window. All sure signs that Spring is finally here and the winter longing for warmer days, sun and blue skies has been fulfilled. I love each season for its own particular gift but Spring holds a special place in my heart.
The Christian life is also seasonal. The scriptural authors, particularly in the Psalms, give voice to these and I am sure you can all reflect on those in your own life experience. There is also the strong note of longing in the Bible, a quiet, confident waiting for the springtime, for newness and rebirth.
Search all the times the phrase ‘How long’ appears and the patient and not so patient waiting for God to redeem and restore. Like the birthing groans in Romans 8: 22-24, we too are caught up with the whole creation as it waits this great springtime of God. Isn’t this is the arc of the whole Bible’s story, a world in waiting and longing for the new things that God is and will do? That’s what God declares in Revelation 21, that he is making all things new! The resurrection of Jesus is the beginning of the spring, and our baptism washes us personally into this reality.
So smell the roses, join the prayer of the birds and buzzing bees. Pause and give thanks for fields of golden canola and sniff the sweet scent on the warm air. Praise God for the springtime of his love in your own life.
David Spike
Pastor for Ministry and Formation
david.spike@levnt.edu.au
