I’m guessing that most of you out there are ready to kick winter out and lock the door behind it, so you can welcome spring with open arms – and maybe open windows! It seems that winter is a guest that always overstays its welcome. In the past weeks, we’ve seen glimpses of the spring to come, which prompt even more impatience with winter’s slow departure. We’ve experienced pollen alerts and winter weather advisories in the same week, as well as frigid temperatures one day and tornado watches and warnings the next. We’ve seen spring flowers blanketed in snow and budding trees coated in ice. Winter definitely does not give up without a fight!
Many winter days are just downright gloomy, with overcast skies and temperatures that only a polar bear could love. And the winter landscape can be just as uninviting, as the bare trees stretch like dark skeletons from the brown earth into the gray clouds. When winter decides to slam us with freezing precipitation, then we have dangerous travel situations and power outages that add stress to our moodiness. Top all of that off with the fact that daylight hours are fewer, so even when the sun is shining, we can’t enjoy it as long!
But winter has its moments, doesn’t it? Do you still experience child-like excitement during a peaceful, beautiful snowfall? The bright, red cardinals and golden meadowlarks seem to stand out even more during the winter months, like they were made specifically to bring some color to the drabness. The sun’s rays striking the icy ground and ice-covered trees make the whole world appear to be encrusted with diamonds. And who doesn’t see the beauty in a snowy landscape under a cloudless, brilliant, blue sky? So we appreciate these moments that carry us through the chill and bleakness of winter into the warmth and greenness of spring.
Making it through a long, cold winter is sort of a metaphor for navigating through life on this planet. We all have some dark, dreary days that test us and make us want to hurry on to the next season of our lives, or maybe even make us question whether or not we can find our ways out of the darkness. I know I don’t have to list the many things that bring hardships and heartaches upon us. But, thankfully, there are also joyful moments in our lives, sometimes even in the midst of the darkest days. These are the icy diamonds sparkling in the sun and the bright, red cardinals in snow-covered trees that bring us smiles during our winter moments. May we all think on these blessings during our seasons of heartaches and trials and remember that future blessings await us.
Certainly Christ never promised blissful lives to his followers. When he sent out the twelve apostles to teach, he told them, “Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles………….Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.” (Matthew 10:17-18, 21-22a) James said in James 1:2, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” Notice that he did not say “if” you meet trials, but instead said “when.”
If you know about the life of Paul (Saul), then you know that he first was involved in the persecutions (and even executions) of Christians (Acts 7:58-8:3, 9:1-2), and then he later suffered many hardships himself in proclaiming the gospel. “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one – I am talking like a madman – with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” (II Corinthians 11:23-28) Paul even stated in II Timothy 3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
No, we definitely are NOT promised peaceful, happy lives just because we are Christians! But we are promised something! Right after Christ told his apostles that they would be hated for his name’s sake, he said to them, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:22b) When James talked about facing trials, he added in James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” As Paul neared the end of his life, he wrote to Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (II Timothy 4:7-8)
We are going to experience seasons of winter in our lives, but as followers of Christ, we are promised a reward for enduring to the end. Another thing we learn from Paul is that we can be content, and even joyful, during those winter moments. “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content, I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13)
And just like spring brings a transformation to the barren, winter landscape, we are also promised a transformation. More words from Paul tell us, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21) The next scripture I want to share is one of my favorites, and once again, it’s from Paul’s writings. “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 15:50-57)
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
As of yesterday, we can officially say, “Goodbye, winter! Hello, spring!” Officially, as in that’s what the calendar says, but maybe not officially according to what the weather does. Eventually, though, winter will fade away until its next appointed time, and we will hopefully remember the beautiful moments that made the harsh season bearable. May the same be true for those harsh, winter moments of your lives. May you endure them with help from beautiful people and beautiful moments and beautiful faith that lead you through the darkness, until you can say goodbye to that season of your life and hello to the next, brighter one. Winter is always temporary, just like our lives on this earth. Find the joy in both. Imitate Paul’s attitude of contentment and his love for Christ. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) When winter ends, we are rewarded with spring and a stunning transformation of the earth! If we are followers of Christ, we are also promised a final reward, a transformation of our bodies from mortal to immortal, when we will say goodbye to the temporary winter of life on this planet and say hello to a glorious, eternal spring! Goodbye, winter! Hello, spring!
