If spring is the time when Mother Nature wakes up from winter, she’s hit the snooze button several times this year. Actually, she got a bit restless back in February and acted like she was getting up early, then went back to sleep.
The Vernal Equinox represented the official arrival of spring back in March. But we’ve been waiting ever since to see the evidence – sometimes while we are driving through white-outs from sudden snow showers. I wonder if we are feeling at all how the disciples of Jesus felt in those days between Jesus’ departure into heaven and the Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon them. Just before his ascension, the disciples asked Jesus, “Is thisthe time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” They had been waiting since Jesus’ resurrection for some sign of the consummation of the kingdom, but as yet, nothing had changed. Jesus, in fact, had said that the kingdom was already among them. But clearly, it was not yet fulfilled.
Then, the Holy Spirit came upon those waiting disciples and lots of things started happening. The disciples were channeling the very power of the risen Christ with their preaching, teaching, and healing. Thousands were responding to their message of God’s forgiveness, and the church was born.
But even all the heady excitement of those early years of the church movement did not bring about the fulfillment of God’s reign. In fact, we are still waiting.
This is how God is working among us. His active presence is evidenced everywhere for those who have the eyes and ears of faith. And often, the signs of the kingdom are dramatically displayed in world events as well as in personal circumstances. But God keeps working, summoning the human race to participate in the work of redemption. God will not give up before all of creation – heaven and earth – reaches fulfillment.
So, as people of faith, we live with the “already but not yet” reality of God’s reign. It is here among us, inviting us to find the abundant life that is made freely available to us, but it is not yet fulfilled. God is still calling us forward and opening up new ways to serve. This means our waiting is never passive. It is always active.
Soon, the muddy, cold transition to spring will give way to a burst of color and consistently warm temperatures. Enjoy it as God’s gift and as a sign of the promise of fulfillment that keeps hope alive in every season.
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