The Life Inside

Just a few days ago, when I looked at the spot where I'd planted some new bulbs last fall, I saw nothing but bare dirt and brown leaves. Grass (and weeds too) were thriving nearby, but I was feeling somewhat anxious about the lack of new shoots where I expected to see them.

I shouldn't have worried! A few warm days, and they are now breaking through the soil. Hooray! I wrote about resurrection in my pre-Easter post, but this is different. This is brand new growth bursting from inside the dry-appearing, brown "clods" I buried months ago. There was life hidden inside, waiting for the right time to show itself. Growth is a mysterious process, isn't it?

We too have life hidden inside us, and it is even more exciting to contemplate. The Apostle Paul called it a "mystery," but he had a special grasp of its meaning to believers down through the ages. "This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. [He was writing to an audience who was not Jewish.] And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory." Paul was anxious to see growth too. "And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. (Colossians 1:26, 27; 2:6, 7)
Although we may appear somewhat "clod-like" at times, let's remember what we have inside, waiting for the right time to show itself. Jesus, our Lord!

MaryMartha

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Art from http://www.sxc.hu/