Spring is beautiful. Flowers bloom. Birds flit about. New life springs up everywhere. Animals have babies. Children play in the fresh green grass. It seems perfectly fitting for Easter take place in Spring, but did God intentionally plan out Jesus’ death and resurrection to fit in with spring, or did God create spring to accent the resurrection? Does the resurrection fit in with spring, or was spring engineered for the resurrection?
What Do I Mean?
Spring and the resurrection of Jesus perfectly mirror each other. In the spring seeds enter the ground and die to bear new life, just as Jesus says in John 12:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” And this is exactly what Jesus did during the spring when he died on the cross and rose again.
We see the beauty in the resurrection just as we see the beauty in spring. We see new life come about from seeming death, just as what happened when Jesus rose again and then sent out the disciples to bring new life to dying souls. With the Resurrection we see a transition into a new season where God begins working in powerful and unprecedented ways to restore lost souls back into a loving relationship with him.
It’s easy to assume that, because of the similarities, God intentionally planned out Jesus’ death and resurrection to take place in spring. However, I want to make the point that from the very beginning of time, God intentionally tilted the Earth’s axis so that we’d get seasons. I believe he intentionally designed the temperature and plants and animals so that we’d get this season we call spring. All of this I think he established simply so we can see the resurrection everywhere we look.
The Creator’s Fingerprints
I’ve learned from my own writing that every part of my book bears my image in one way or another. I can’t escape it. Since it’s coming from my head, every character is simply a different side of me to some degree or another. Every detail of each setting is described as I would notice it. And every word selected is as I would use. I believe the same is true in God’s creation.
Everything God makes bears his image. This is why Creation had to be perfect from the very beginning, because God is perfect. Now there are some select differences because we caused the fall of creation. There are somethings now that don’t point towards God but rather point now to why we need God and prove how sin corrupts.
God created everything, and therefor all things point to his great plan, and I believe he gave us the seasons to further emphasize his gospel.
The Gospel in the Seasons: Winter
This is where things get both beautiful and poetic. Not only do the seasons point to the gospel, they also illustrate the seasons of this world. First we have winter. Plants are dead. The world is brown, lifeless, and harsh. The night is great, and the days are short. The sun is weak. Not that the sun its self is weaker, but that the land is residing away from the sun’s light.
In the same way we are dead without God. Sure a tree might be alive, but if spring never comes the tree might as well be dead. And what is keeping this tree dead? It’s because it’s living far from the light of the sun. In the same way, when we live far from God’s love, we are dead and are incapable of doing anything good.
Historically, humanity was dead before Jesus. It was simply waiting and dormant for it’s Messiah to come and free them from the bondage of sin.
Spring
What needs to happen for spring to come? The sun needs to warm up the soil and the air. The plants can’t do anything. But, once the land is warm again, plants have the choice to respond to the warmth and grow leaves. They need to turn to the sun for their life and sustenance and only through that can they grow and flourish.
It’s the same with us people. We need God to show his love to us over and over again in order for us to be warmed up enough to the idea of him to respond to his love and accept that only through Jesus’ sacrifice can we be saved from our sins and begin to grow and flourish.
In human history we see the same thing. Jesus’ ministry warmed the earth with true love, and Jesus’ death and resurrection both showed the extent and power of God’s love.
Summer
Summer in many ways is just a continuation of spring. It may not be as rich and as vibrant, but this is when the real growth happens. Plants bear fruit and deepen their roots. There’s also period of hard seasons that test and try plants, and cause them to deepen their roots. Some don’t have deep enough roots and end up dying.
In the same way, believers may lose some of that original vibrance, but their faith is still real and they continue to bear fruit through sharing the gospel, while also growing deeper in God’s word. We also see hard seasons that test us, but in the end this only causes believers faith to strengthen and grow. However, those who don’t have real faith, but were just simply following because they enjoyed it, they will turn away from the faith when these hard seasons hit.
In human history we see this same trend after the ministry of the apostles. The signs and wonders aren’t quite as present, but the body of Christ continues to grow as well as deepening their roots. The Church hits some hard seasons, but as many fall away, but the core remains and continues growing from there.
Fall
The harsh cold of winter is coming, but no one knows when it will finally strike. However, each passing day shows more and more signs that it is close. Leaves change, the last of fruits are harvested and quickly hidden away before the cold can kill it. Every plant buckles down for the coming cold. Then the cold strikes suddenly, and it’s too late.
So it happens with us. We don’t know when we will die. But we must always be prepared. We must live in such a way that we are ready and wont look back wishing “If only I had another day or week on earth to share the gospel with that person one last time.” As we age we start to see more and more signs that our end is about to come. And then it does, without any further warning.
In human history Jesus says this will happen. He gives us warnings and even compares it to the fig tree saying that we will see signs of the end times and have to prepare suddenly. We need to make sure we are diligent stewards sharing the gospel so we aren’t shocked or surprised when Jesus returns. But one day it will strike and Jesus will come like a thief in the night.
God Created Spring for the Resurrection
I believe God created our seasons to reflect the gospel and human history. So, I don’t think it’s coincidence that the resurrection happens right in the middle of spring. Spring was always meant to highlight the resurrection in this unique way. But how beautiful is it that all of our seasons tell the gospel story? Surely God wasn’t lying when he says in Romans 1:19-20 that “For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.”
He also says in psalm 19:1-4a “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
So, when you celebrate the resurrection today, remember that God has had this plan set in motion since the foundation of the universe. He surely is the almighty, all-knowing, and all-powerful God. And yet he died for us because he wants us to be with him. What an amazing God we serve. He deserves to be our king. So let’s follow him, and as he calls us, let’s take those wild steps of faith.
If you liked this post, you should definitely consider checking out my other post The Gospel in Creation
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