May 2010
Day Light Saving time started a few weeks ago. We now enjoy longer and brighter days. I looked out from my kitchen window this morning, and realized the Apple-pear tree in the backyard have already started blossoming. Spring time, I love spring! It gives me a sense of freshness. The sweet scent of fresh flowers is refreshing. Unless you have allergy, then it may create a little problem with your sneezing. We had plenty of rain this past winter. Yes, we did need the rain because we had a few years of drought. But I’m glad that the wet and gloomy weather, which really didn’t work for me or the building project, is behind us at least for a while.
Spring time reminds me of a new beginning. The flowers are blooming, the streams are running, the birds are singing. All these give people a sense of vitality. This sense of fresh start is important. Aren’t you glad that there is always a chance to have a new beginning every year? I can’t even begin to fathom what Life would be like if there was no chance to start over. It is true that we can’t change history, the past would always be the unchangeable facts, yet with a new beginning, there is hope. With a new beginning, we can always build on past success, and more importantly, have a chance to redeem what we have messed up before. We are not doomed forever. To me, that is the message of spring time.
It is only fitting to know that Easter falls in the spring time because of what Easter stands for. The etymology of the name “Easter” is uncertain, but the festival dated back to Christians celebrating Christ’s resurrection. According to the biblical account, we can affirm the date of Easter because Jesus was crucified on Friday during the week of Jewish Passover. On that particular Friday, Jesus’ lifeless body was hung on the cross between two thieves. That wasn’t a scene to be honored, but as strange as it might sound, it was necessary in order to achieve what Jesus intended to do on earth—died to pay for the penalty of Sin. The last statement Jesus made on the cross before he died was “It is finished!” God’s righteous demand on the penalty of Sin has been completely paid for by Jesus’ death. There is no other requirement to be fulfilled by anyone else or by any other means. It is finished! Without the crucifixion, there would not be Easter. As Christians, we remember the Saving Grace of Jesus on the cross, and we celebrate the Victorious Life on Easter: A new beginning that brings the believers into Eternity. It is more than duration; it is fulfillment of Life.
Before I sign off, I would like to take this opportunity to invite those, who have yet to believe Jesus’ death paid for your Sin and rose from the dead to give you a New Life to simply accept His gift of Salvation. All you need to do is to accept that you are a sinner in need of the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ.
Pastor Larry
