From the dead of winter and into the dawn of Spring, there is a message in every seasonal change. God speaks to us in many ways. Although some things may have died, He presents hope through the signs within His Creation.
“For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. (8) Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, (9) Yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant” (Job 14:7-9).
From God’s eternal perspective, nothing is lost. It merely changes form. God, through nature, provides the rain in its season. The message contained within daily occurrences illustrates the nature of God. Jesus, God in the flesh, introduced new life to the world. He came to die, yet through His death, the life He brought became possible. To saints who die in the Lord, the act of death is but a metaphor. The Book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible where the resurrection life had not been recorded or perhaps even experienced. Yet, in his heart, the hope of the eternal existed. He later said, “If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes (Job 14:14). He speaks of his labor on the earth as hard service. He speaks of change as the end of his labor, alluding to entering into a different state of being after his hard labor has ended. Those who are changed in this life from sinner to saint may have the appearance of death to those who see nothing but this side of life. The reason is that their true life is hidden within them. The branches that appear dead in winter are full of life and eagerly await their change to come. When Springtime comes, the sun, wind, and rain work to complement the new arrival of life springing forth from within their souls.
Death is the enemy of life, but death is a defeated foe. Even when death celebrates what it claims as its victory, the mere scent of water will cause the fragrance of life to rise. One day, the stench of sin will be permanently removed from the earth. The nostrils of sinners have adapted to the stench, and therefore, it does not appear to those who are perishing as being awful and distasteful. When things die, they decay and have a putrid, rotten smell. Our bodies will suffer corruption, but in an instant, we shall be changed! The Apostle Paul reminds us.
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – (52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (53) For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (54) So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” (55) “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Cor 15:51-55)