I love seeing photos from northern friends onFor behold, the winter is past. Song of Solomon 2:11 Facebook of redbud and dogwood trees covered in blooms, of daffodils and tulips bursting forth from the brown soil.

That’s one thing I miss by spending winter and spring in south Florida. We enjoy green trees and flowers throughout the season, which is wonderful, but we miss that moment when the buds burst out and you know that winter is over. Once again, spring has returned and all is “right” with the world.

Of course, we watch the news, or visit a mall, or deal with problems at work, and we know that the world is a mess. But the message of Easter is that there is hope. We have hope because God’s Son willingly died a cruel death on a cross to make all things right. That perfection won’t actually come to pass until Christ returns and ushers in the new heaven and the new earth.

According to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:13, ESV.

Every spring, the new life we see in nature–even in Florida, with the blooming of citrus trees–resurrects our hope in that perfect future. And this week, as we remember the first Easter morning , our hope becomes faith.

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