Easter is just around the corner! We have been experiencing some wet weather here and while that may be nice for the plants it means our spring hasn’t been the sunniest. Days of cloudy overcast can get us down. The cool rain and breezes make us want to stay inside and curled up under a blanket. Some moments of sun have been very welcome relief but still it hasn’t felt like spring yet. A seasonal shift makes us excited for something new and the refreshing that comes with spring always makes me think of renewed life and vibrancy in our natural surroundings.

            Over the next few weeks we are going to explore the idea of God’s Vineyard and Jesus as the Vine. My hope in doing this is that we will come to appreciate God’s work in our lives and Jesus as the source of our lives. As we like to cling to our blankets and cocoa on rainy, cold, and overcast days my hope is that this exploration of God’s Vineyard will help us cling to Jesus when things aren’t the way we hoped they would be. If you want a preview of where we are going to be in the coming weeks look at Matthew 20, Luke 20, and John 15. I hope that you are as excited about this Easter as I am and that the Son shines a bit more in your life this spring!

I grew up playing video games. It started with a Nintendo and then a Super Nintendo. We got a Sega Genesis when it came out and it was hard to imagine what could ever be better than the things we saw on the screen. Playing with my brothers was one of my favorite things. We would take turns switching off trying to beat a level or zone. As we got older the games only got more complicated. I started playing computer games and found a deep appreciation for Real-Time Strategy and Grand Strategy games. You have to build up a good economy to sustain your expansion as you consider how best to conquer the little digital world that is depicted on the screen in vivid colors. I like the challenge presented and the instant gratification of taking over a fortress from my opponents. It is nice to have my own little kingdom where I am in control and have the power. It is a lovely illusion.

Sometimes I let that kind on kingly thinking come into my real life. I want to be in control. I want to make quick progress and see rapid change. In a game a few moments could represent days, months, or even years. The progress there is artificial and still somehow satisfying, but only as long as I play the game. As soon as I close the program I am just me again. I have a real life that doesn’t move so swiftly, the changes are harder to see, progress more difficult to track, and my enemies are clearly marked by the lines on the map or the clothing they wear. It is nice to have my own little kingdom sometimes. I get to be in control, I get to shape things, I get to make things happen, and decide where I go and what I do. As fun as it is to play games and get lost in that unreality, it is so much more pleasant to live in God’s Kingdom. He is in control, not me. He is the one who shapes the story, not me. He is the one who sees the progress made in my life and is satisfied. Having God in control makes life all the more enjoyable. That means I have to give up my little kingdom. I have to let go of the desire to control and be content to follow the leading of the true King, the Lord of All, and the Lover of my soul.

It is amazing to me that weather can have such a profound impact on our mood. We experience seasonal and weather changes with our emotions as well as our bodies and that is phenomenal in my opinion. Sunny weather and summer are often experienced as a time of wonder and exploration, even lifting our spirits and feeling not just warmth from the sun but warmth in our souls. Contrasted with that is cloudy weather and winter. Dark and gloom sink into us and we are often left colder, physically and emotionally. Even with celebrations at this time people often experience this darkening/chilling effect of the weather. It makes me consider what other events or circumstances affect me.

We often call life events “seasons” and in doing so recognize that our lives change. It is a good practice to recognize that life events and circumstances are variable and can shift or be changed by events often outside our control, like the weather. Unlike the weather we have a choice as to what our response will be to the changing seasons of life. Knowing that spring will come after winter ought to give us peace of mind and encouragement on the cloudy cold days. In a similar way we have a promise of new “seasons” in Christ. Many in our world feel like we are living in cloudy days (and not just because it is winter) they are letting that coldness sink into them and their responses are often negative and as chilly as a winter breeze. That is the response of a person who has forgotten that seasons change. They feel as though we are locked into a perpetual winter and therefore have lost sight of the sun beyond the clouds.

As Christians we need to remember that there is a Son who shines for us even on cloudy days and during wintery seasons of life. The hope we have in Christ is one of a new creation, a new day dawning, a change in the seasons that will come. That fills us with warmth and hope and changes our response to the cloudy weather and storms of this life. On cloudy days we know that the sun will come again, during the stormy nights we know that it will pass one eventually, and in times when we don’t remember what spring feels like we get a glimpse of the beautiful God who makes us grow. I hope that your cloudy days are filled with glimpses of the Son shining through this month!

2017. Let that sink in for a bit.

Ok, now that it has sunk in we can talk about what it means. We are living in a new year but these things remain true at any time: Jesus is still king. The Lord of all creation still loves you. The world will always be His. Any problems we have can be brought before Him.

Some of us has been shaken by 2016. Others may feel broken and scarred by it. Coming into 2017 we feel weak and wounded. We need a restoration. We need a redeemer to show us what our lives can be when all we can see is the brokenness. We need Jesus to make us new. Good news is that can happen. Bad news is we have to let Him work on making us new every day.

New Year’s resolutions don’t work so well if we aren’t resolved to them every new day of the year. In the same way, the restoration and redemption found in Christ has to be renewed each day if we want to live fully in it. We get to be new. That happens every day. We can choose to honor Christ with that newness or not.

The year is new and so are you. The day is new and so are you. Christ gives us the chance to see and experience the world in a new way, with Him as our primary interpreter for what is going on around us. In the light of Christ’s activity in the world we see what is going on in a different way. This is part of the newness offered to us. It is one of my favorite things. Getting to see through new eyes helps me to make sense of a world that can be pretty senseless sometimes. I get to be new. Others get to be new. The world gets to be new. Not just once a year. But every single day.