Springtime in Heaven

            Happy April to you! By now, you should be done with the agony of tax preparation and settled into a beautiful spring. My garden is blooming and fruiting, and I hope that your garden or potted-plant window is also responding to the sunshine and nutrients. I practically hop around the back yard for joy that my peach and almond trees are setting their green fruits, that the mulberries are putting on leaves and the beginnings of tiny berries. I nearly lose control when I see the microscopic buds that will become seedless grapes!

            When I see the baby fruits growing on the trees and vines, I think of Galatians 5:22-23: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

            Is the Master Gardener also rejoicing over the fruits that His garden is producing? Is He pointing to you proudly and joyfully, and saying, “Today my child [insert your name here] sprouted the fruits of gentleness and peace”? Is He rejoicing over you with singing?

            Rather than anthropomorphizing God, making Him into a human image, let’s imagine that as we are His children and have inherited His characteristics by both birth and adoption, that we can project our emotions back to our Creator and Father. I really can envision God becoming excited over the growth of His children’s godly characteristics.

            We see the fruits of the Spirit in each other as we corporately and individually experience spiritual growth. And we’re pretty excited about growth of another kind: growth of the family of God. Evangelism teams, supported by your contributions and God’s grace, evangelize thousands of people around the world each year. Hundreds are baptized, but untold thousands have found the love of God so compelling that they’ve given their lives unreservedly for Jesus to change. More flowers and fruits for the Gardener.

            Take a walk in the Lord’s garden. Let Him cultivate a garden of fruit in your spirit. It’s springtime in heaven, too!

On such a night as this

It was a long day, full of work which never seems to get signed off—it just perpetuates. There were errands to run, a meeting, and a music rehearsal at church. The seventeen hours I’ve been up and running have drained me. The stress of relationships at work, in the church, in the family, and the longing for love is always simmering inside, too.

But--the Passover full moon has been up over the horizon for a couple of hours. The night sky is so bright with the moon that I can see the jagged rim of the mountains, and the porch lights of homes along the ridge miles away. A bird calls from a nearby tree. I just can’t breathe deeply enough: the citrus groves release intoxicating perfume from waxy white blossoms at the same time that my patio’s lavender wisteria and pink jasmine scent wafts on the gentle breeze. There’s not quite enough wind to stir the chimes, but enough to riffle my hair. My bare feet are crossed on the patio chair across from me.

Mali pounces on a spot in the grass where she can hear a vole or gopher digging under the surface. Abby skitters around under the porch light, chasing a moth. Evie chews on a ball and tosses it hopefully toward my feet. All is quiet in the neighborhood, and I sigh with content--and reluctance that soon I’ll have to lock up the house and go to sleep. It’s almost a shame to be unconscious and miss such a night as this.

On such an evening, I can’t imagine the terror and stress of painting lamb’s blood on the Hebrew doorposts to keep away the threat of death. Nor can I envision leaving my home in the middle of the night to escape a holocaust. I’m grateful for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and that his blood identifies me as his child. The threat of hell has passed over me, and the promise of eternal life in his kingdom has already begun.

I can revel in the spring air, which God has perfumed to delight the senses, and relax in that Sabbath-rest he’s given to us by fulfilling and completing the law, and replacing a written code with the words he speaks to my heart. That rest is knowing that I am safe and secure in God’s hands, both physically and spiritually.

So although I will sleep tonight with the dog lying on the floor nearby, and the windows closed for security, my soul rests in the knowledge that my place in eternity is a done deal. And when I wake, I pray to remember that Jesus' resurrection means that the places in my heart that died of grief and injury will be created anew, like the bare, gray twigs of wisteria burst into giant spikes of spicy sweetness.

There is life after death, and there is life after despair, because Jesus took our infirmities and our rightful punishment, to give us his health and his reward.

God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” Revelation 21:3-5 NLT

For since the world began,

no ear has heard,

and no eye has seen a God like you,

who works for those who wait for him! Isaiah 64:4 NLT

The Vernal Equinox

Listen, Heavens, I have something to tell you. Attention, Earth, I’ve got a mouth full of words. My teaching, let it fall like a gentle rain, my words arrive like morning dew, Like a sprinkling rain on new grass, like spring showers on the garden. For it’s GOD’s Name I’m preaching—respond to the greatness of our God! Deuteronomy 32:1-3 MSG

Today is the first day of spring—on the calendar. Sometime yesterday or today, the Sun stood over our equator, and day and night are about equal in length all over the world. If you live in a southern clime, it’s been spring for weeks already, when your African daisies, iris, desert poppies, and ranunculas were at optimum bloom. If you live in northern areas, as my grandparents did, today is a day of rejoicing that the snow and ice will soon recede.

Astronomers built monuments to mark this date: the Sphinx, Stonehenge, and innumerable temples. They held fertility rites, and rejoiced that their crops would soon be producing fresh food. Jews mark Passover at the first full moon after the equinox, and Christians celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after Passover. It’s no accident that sunrise ceremonies, rabbits, eggs, and the fertility goddess, Ishtar/Ashtoreth [>“Easter”], are connected to the Christian celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the grave. But don’t let avoiding the pagan rituals stop you thanking and celebrating Jesus for His sacrifice and resurrection!

God put our earth on a schedule marked by the relational movements of sun, moon, planets, and stars. He set feasts, celebrations, and rest days by the astronomical calendar. Where we stand in relation to sunlight influences our food crops, our health, even our skin color. In the 21st century, we are privileged to have not only the Book of Nature to teach us of God’s love and care for us, but the Bible of His redemptive works and character, and the cumulative research and wisdom of His servants, ministers, and teachers. Rejoice in the newness of the season, and remember the Creator all the time.

Look around you: Winter is over; the winter rains are over, gone! Spring flowers are in blossom all over. The whole world's a choir—and singing! Spring warblers are filling the forest with sweet arpeggios. Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed, and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms. Song of Songs 2:10 MSG

Heaven on earth

Friends asked on a private forum, “What is heaven-on-earth to you?” Here are some of the answers:
...When my son laughs with complete and utter abandon—for any reason. ...The herbs and vegetables we've grown from seeds on our front porch. ...Being with people who love and care about me.
...Sweet pineapple and cottage cheese in the same bowl.
...Heaven is being in the arms of someone who loves me for me.
...Seeing the pure glee of children as you enter a house and they drop everything, scream your name, and run toward you with open arms and hug your leg so hard (before you can get your shoes off and drop your bags) that you almost fall over!
...Heaven is warm: a nice warm cup of cocoa, a cuddly blanket by a warm fire, a warm and cozy bed, a warm embrace.
...Heaven is my cat laying on my chest purring loudly, and my dog licking my toes with his warm tongue.
...The scent of citrus blossoms on a meandering breeze.
...Immersion in a pipe organ concert in an English cathedral.
...Licking a spoon of hot peach jam made from home-grown peaches.
...A Heath-covered Klondike ice cream bar.
...The middle of a great book.
...The moment you realize you're being used by God to help another.
...The Milky Way seen from the floor of the Grand Canyon.
...The scent of rain on creosote in the Arizona desert.

The last seven phrases are mine. We were having a rare bit of precipitation in California, and I was reminiscing about how much I love a spring storm in the Arizona desert, with its multicolor lightning, chiaroscuro clouds that dwarf the highest mountains, the sweet herbal scents, the germination of poppies and daisies so fast you can almost see it, and watching dry gullies fill with flash floods that recede to pools where frogs and fish miraculously appear from the reconstituted earth.

The Lord loves a desert storm, too! Isaiah 35:1-7 NLT tells of His ideal party for those He loves and redeems. Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the LORD will display his glory, the splendor of our God. With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.

Streams in the desert. For those who live in a land of plenteous water, this may not resonate within. But to people born and raised in a desert, water does beautiful and miraculous things. It springs from a rock. Turns to blood. Washes away impurity. It is a display of the glory and splendor of God. To the Israelites of the exodus and their Egyptian oppressors, to the Jews exiled to Assyria and Mesopotamia, to anyone who experiences a drought,

God has often used the medium of water, indispensable to human life, as a metaphor for Himself. He is the living water and the river of life. In Isaiah 43:19-21 NIV, the Lord says, See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

If you’ve recently experienced violent storms and are facing deep and wide rivers in your life, remember that God provides a way through them (Isaiah 43:2) because He loves you. You are precious and honored in His sight! Rivers are not barriers when He leads the way, but channels of blessing and life-giving nutrients. Jesus said that the water He gives will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14).

With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” Isaiah 35:3,4 NLT. God loves us and is coming to save us. That is heaven on earth. That is good news. That is the gospel.

Ayn Mousa, Jordan--the Spring of Moses

Several years ago, Candace, Audrey, and I, amateur archaeologists, took a weekend off from excavating near Amman, Jordan, and visited the ancient city of Petra, where building facades and interiors are carved from the red sandstone of a dry, desert canyon. Boys pointed to their donkeys and asked, “Taxi, Madame?” Audrey and Candace hiked to the top, while I walked downhill in the morning, saving the uphill return journey, in the July afternoon heat, for a camel-taxi. (Hey, I wasn't born and raised in the hot Arizona desert for nuthin!)

Near Petra, we saw the tan, barren, rolling hills where Moses and the Israelite multitude spent 40 years camping, grazing their flocks, collecting manna, living, and dying. From an air-conditioned car we saw the black goat-hair Bedouin tents, and laundry drying on rope lines, as they’ve done for thousands of years.

After being on our dig for only a few weeks, we were thrilled to have hot showers, toilets, delicious meals, and bug-free beds in our hotel, the Crowne Plaza. There was such luxury after a few weeks of dirt and squalor that we felt like rednecks who had just fallen off the turnip truck. After 10 pm, we slipped out to the pool for a night swim—and what bliss!

Just beginning our return journey to Amman, we found a sign that read “Ayn Mousa, the Spring of Moses.” For several thousand years, predating Muslim times, this has been thought to be the place where Moses struck the rock for water, though God had told him to speak to it. Water gushed from the rock nevertheless, and the Israelites were saved yet again by God’s grace. (see story in Numbers 20:7-12.)

Ayn Mousa is a block building with a paved floor. It backs up to the base of a cliff, a boulder juts from the floor, and a stream of cool, fresh water pours from the base. (We drank some—it was sweet.) That water supplies the town around Petra, including our hotel and its pool. When we asked our supervising archaeologists if this was truly the Spring of Moses, they said probably not, but—who knew?—it could be the place.

I hope it is the same place, with its miraculous water flowing steadily for 3,200 years. I like the idea that at the hotel pool we were swimming in God’s grace, being cooled, refreshed, and exhilarated after our exertions.

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you…have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Philemon 1:7 NIV

Unexpected beauty

Just days ago, I was given the opportunity to see Arizona’s desert up close for the first time in years. Many people imagine the desert as a harsh environment, with rocks and sand (check!), spiny cacti (check!), strong sun (check, but just after vernal equinox, so it was very pleasant), and venomous insects and reptiles drooling for tender human flesh (none this time). Artist conceptions of heaven should depict it from other perspectives than tall conifers, ferns, and grassy meadows!

For those who look for beauty, beauty abounds. In the desert, tiny purple flowers and blue lupine, yellow brittlebush daisies, jewel-toned petals of the hedgehog cactus, gold-blooming palo verde trees, and long-stemmed scarlet ocotillos compete for space with sage-green saguaro cactus, which are budding for a creamy-white flowering in June. Brushing the tiny creosote leaves reminds one of the sweet scent of rain on the thirsty desert. A seasonal creek trickles through a tiny canyon of concreted multicolored gravel, 12 feet beneath the trail. A flower grows among sharp stones. The sky is brilliant blue with a white half-moon rising over the violet mountains to the east, and a breeze carries a floral scent. In the distance, a waterway gleams silver. Unexpected beauty.

In Egypt, ten massive, deadly disasters have struck all civilization from the animals and servants to the rulers. But on a clear night with a gigantic full moon and millions of stars, the numberless descendants of Abraham walked away from years of misery and marched triumphantly into the trackless desert – with relief and joy that they’d been passed over by death. In the Promised Land centuries later, Israel, again trapped by foreign domination and slavery, saw the Messiah slain as their Passover Lamb, and experienced His resurrection that conquered death and set the prisoners free. Unexpected beauty.

A woman hears an ambulance siren in the distance, but instead of going on with what she is doing, she stops and asks the Lord to bless the victims of illness or accident who require the emergency service. A group of recently-divorced people, instead of repeating their misery and intense pain to each other, volunteer at a kitchen for the homeless and find fellowship, fulfillment, and unexpected joy by selflessly serving the addicted, mentally ill, and indigent who live on the streets.

Unexpected beauty. A strong arm steadies the weak and embraces the lonely. A friend stays by your side in a crowd of strangers. A handshake is denied – because a hug is offered instead! Speaking words of support and comfort in the face of deception or disloyalty. Practicing humility and vulnerability so others can experience God’s power and Presence working through them to bless and encourage. Words of friendship and appreciation in an email. A shared treat brought home from the party. Passing along a compliment. Each of these actions is a blessing and an unforgettably gracious gift to the receiver.

Unexpected beauty. We don’t see it often enough, which is why it’s unexpected! But it has its rewards, both now and in eternity. A compliment or encouraging hug has an immediate payback when you see eyes light up or a bent back straighten. And when your target is recharged with that electricity, he or she now has the wherewithal to repeat the action to others in unending ripples.

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:24 NIV. A spur is a projection that goads or impels to action, speed, or achievement. Imagine “sticking out your neck” to be the change in someone’s life today. Imagine inspiring one person to complete a task with distinction because he or she has been encouraged to add that extra jolt of adrenaline or the finishing touch.

To overcome the negativity of criticism and judgment, psychologists estimate that it takes as many as 15 compliments or “atta-boy/atta-girl” encouragements to overcome the hurt and frustration. How efficient or “green” would it be to never state the criticism in the first place, but instead to uplift, empower, and “spur one another on toward love and good deeds”?

Yes, we know that God is love, and that He gave every molecule of heaven’s resources to reconcile with us and bring us home. But we forget so easily and must be reminded so often because we don’t truly believe it ourselves. We don’t own it. The fact is, we cannot be told or shown often enough that we are loved! We don’t hear often enough: “I love you.” (Full stop. No “buts.”)

“God's Son, eyes pouring fire-blaze, standing on feet of furnace-fired bronze, says this: ’I see everything you're doing for me. Impressive! The love and the faith, the service and persistence. Yes, very impressive! You get better at it every day.’” Revelation 2:18-19 MSG.

I need that. You need that. And because Christ lives in us, we can BE that to the people around us. We can BE the unexpected beauty in someone’s day of frustration or overwork. It’s no more labor on our part!

“A mean person gets paid back in meanness, a gracious person in grace.” Proverbs 14:14 MSG. And think of this proverb in terms of relationship, not material goods: “It's criminal to ignore a neighbor in need, but compassion for the poor—what a blessing!” Proverbs 14:21 MSG.

No matter your appearance or reputation, your community or church standing: you can BE the unexpected beauty in someone’s day. Let this be your challenge: go and shock someone by a compliment or encouraging word. Don’t qualify or explain it. Just do a hit and run! That one act will lift both of you and will resonate in many unseen lives. Who doesn’t want to be as beautiful and contrasty as a magenta cactus flower that matures into sweet, nourishing fruit? This world needs a lot less prickles and a lot more blooms!