I trust that you're all enjoying this beautiful early spring day! Any of you catching Spring Fever? It's easy to do as we daydream about gardening - getting our hands dirty in the rich soil after the long winter - or playing catch out in the yard, or even hitting the golf course for a quick 9 after work. Some of us, I'm sure, are fast-forwarding to summer (students and teachers, I'm talking to you!), staring outside and fantasizing about sleeping late and enjoying warm, lazy days. Believe me - I'm right there with you, especially after the cold, wet winter we've endured together in the Upstate.
However, as we begin to see the Lord renew the earth once again, let me encourage you to dream about something even better, even higher, even more glorious than the springtime, heralded by the burgeoning azaleas, dogwoods, and cherry blossoms. Let's be reminded of what is to come, an even more breathtaking and amazing renewal. Let us look forward in faith to the New Heavens and the New Earth, where "righteousness dwells" (I Pet. 3:13), where, " death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things (will) have passed away" (Rev. 21:4). We can rest assured, just as we waited through the long, dark, winter, that, even now, our Lord Jesus is "making all things new" (Rev. 21:3), and is faithfully completing His good work in each of us until He comes again (Phil. 1:6). One day soon, we'll enjoy an "Eternal Spring." Isn't this the picture we find in Rev. 22:1,2? The apostle John describes its vibrancy: "the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."
Of course, what gives this New Jerusalem, this New Heavens and New Earth vitality and fruitfulness won't be the light of the sun, but instead, "...the Lord God will be our light, and we will reign forever and ever" (Rev. 22:5). I know it's customary at this time of the year (and at this time of the day) to daydream, even to get "Spring Fever" when we see the greening grass, the crystal blues skies, the buds on the trees, and the flowers begin to bloom. But this year, when you start to see the signs of spring, remember to "daydream" beyond what we see now to what will be revealed on the bright and glorious day when Christ comes again and makes all things new. Surely then we'll know the full truth of these words, spoken by Solomon about the coming of our glorious Bridegroom, Jesus: "...for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come" (Song of Sol. 2:11, 12). May we look forward in hope to Christ's return when He will renew the heavens and the earth and reveal to us the glorious inheritance prepared for us from before the foundation of the world! Now that's a Spring Fever worth catching!