Easter is here! And spring has sprung! All around us
there are signs of new life! In addition, things are beginning to open up just a little after our long lock down. It feels
like a new day!

This is the entire mood of the New Testament, a sense of
things beginning to thaw. Bible scholars call this the “already-not yet”
tension of the New Testament. Already Christ is risen from the dead, the
first fruits of a new creation. But we are not yet at the end of time
when what Christ began will be fully consummated.

This in-between time is marked by little signs of new
life. We find ourselves being energized by a presence in our lives
which is moving us in new directions. We’re not yet free of old desires but
they’re losing their grip on us.

To be a Christian is to be a person of the middle, a
person living between the times. It’s an exciting time, for we can sense
what’s just around the corner. What’s around the corner in terms of the
natural world is summertime and warmer days. In relation to the virus, it’s
herd immunity and the joy of engaging in group activities. What’s ultimately
around the corner is what appeared in the resurrected Jesus, a glorified
body, free from the very power of death itself, a body fully animated by the
presence of God.

The little ways we’re moved by the presence of God today
are a foretaste of fully inspired life. It will be life lived on a higher
level, a heavenly life.

I pray that as you enjoy the beauty of the world around us,
you’d be reminded once more of the beauty that awaits us. Paul describes
this beauty in Galatians. It is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness,
goodness—all the things we see in Jesus and all the things starting to take
hold in us.

So, we pray, even so, come, Lord Jesus! Bring in that day!

Easter blessings to you all!