A Living Hope

So I was driving home from work last night marveling at the the beauty that lay before me.  The thundershowers earlier that morning and afternoon had seemed to make the landscape suddenly come alive with a vividness and freshness that had yet to be seen this spring.   Lush green grass; trees budding with blossoms in an array of white and pink hues; crocuses, daffodils, and hyacinths dotting yards and gardens that been dead just weeks ago.   It was all such a gorgeous landscape against a backdrop of dark clouds with the sun beginning to break forth and penetrate the earth, making the raindrops glisten beneath its rays.

As I revelled in this glorious masterpiece, I scratched my head and wondered:  So why do people hang eggs from their trees???  What God has created is far superior!

For how fitting for this new life to dramatically appear the week that Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It is as if creation itself was shouting and boasting in the eternal life that is given to the people of God through the resurrection of Christ from the dead.  And the words from 1 Peter 1 which I had been studying weeks before took on new meaning:

"According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..."

Our hope is living because Christ is living.  What was dead is made alive.  And what is made alive is called to praise the God of all creation.

As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, may we thank him for and live in light of this living hope.