by guest contributor Valerie Morse
As beautiful and as welcomed as Spring is this year, with the disappearance of mountains of snow and the return of welcomed warmth, there is a nervous feeling, especially for those who live in a country setting…Below the surface of the earth is a water table that continues to rise, sometimes showing itself in overflowing streams and creek beds, and sometimes exacerbated by the arrival of Spring showers.
For those who have had the misfortune of water finding its way under floor boards and baseboards, flooding the basements of their homes, the promise of Spring can become a nightmare of damage and heartbreak. It has been interesting to read about similar scenes of flowing water in the Book of Ezekiel.
“Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, water issued out
from under the threshold of the house…” (Ezekiel 47:1)
Ezekiel then went on to say that this water, which flowed eastward, first came up to his ankles…then to his knees…and then became a river…
After he had been safely brought up onto the banks of the river, he noticed that wherever the water travelled, it brought life…even to areas that had been deserts. Life began to spring forth where there had been barrenness!
What a wonderful foreshadowing of the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit, when Jesus, on the last day of a Feast, stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.” (John 7:38)
What a wonderful invitation! What a wonderful promise! For those who follow the Spirit’s prompting, and turn to Christ, a new life springs up within them. It brims over and spills out of us to everyone we meet. It is evident to all that something has happened deep within, because of what now flows out of our lives, as we touch the lives of others.
As we stand gazing at the cross on this Easter weekend, remembering the shame that Jesus bore for us, may we remember this promise. Just as he burst forth in glorious light on that Sunday morning so long ago, he promises this new life to those who would come to Him. Life where there was once barrenness…abundant life…overflowing life!
Happy Easter, everyone!
