is Soon to Come

As I was leaving a small town early one afternoon following a nice visit with a church member, I noticed a sign outside of the grain factory which read, “No Matter How Long the Winter, Spring is Soon to Come.” The Flagstaff County and the town of Stettler are known to display a regular rotation of signs exhibiting slogans intended to encourage the onlooker, encourage the reader, provide general information, or to pique people’s interest in a particular topic. And such was the case with this sign. The winter season in Canada is often described by many citizens as a season of coldness, bitterness, and gloom. We now understand through scientific data that some of the depression and despair experienced within the population during the Winter season is due to a decrease in the amount of exposure to the sun’s rays robbing many of us of the essential vitamin D. To overcome the drop in temperature, the frigidity of the season and to avoid hypothermia, we comfort ourselves with the warmth of extra clothing and alternative sources of heat. Attempting to encourage ourselves through this time some may occupy their minds with thoughts of the heat that comes after winter, the summer bliss, and a longing for Spring to come so that they can be renewed with vigor, vitality, and strength to take up and conquer their daily challenges.

Between the intertestamental period, the Israelites were going through the same experience. Their cold religious formality that was taught and expressed by the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees to the rest of the Israelite people gave the impression that they were in a long and bitter winter season. The life experience that resulted from the vigorous rules, traditions and treatment imposed on the common people of Judea became one overcome with burdens, gloom, coldness, and anxiety. As prophesied in the scriptures, the people longed for the Sun of righteousness to come with healing in His wings, they longed for the Light of the world to bring warmth to and melt the stoney, icy hearts of the religious leaders. They longed for the Spring that would give them a new life and renew their religious experience. When Christ did come, His teachings, His lifestyle, the relationships that He built, and His very character displayed to the Israelites and the Gentiles that He was able to clothe them with the light and heat of His righteousness and love and protect them from the common cold of religious formalism, the frigidness of their tradition, and the hypothermia of sin which, without intervention, would lead to death.

In modern society today, many cities are going through a similar experience. These places exude an atmosphere of general unhappiness only occasionally dispelled by warm thoughts and exchanges between family members, friends, colleagues, or other factors. People seem to be either depressed, envious, disgruntled, bitter or mean. As a response to this experience, God has called us to be the light of the world; that through our relationship with Christ, our deportment, actions, and relationship building will create in people a sense of longing for the Spring. They are seeking for the warmth of peace and a relief that can only come from Jesus.

I am very elated to know that Seventh-day Adventist churches around the world including the Stettler and Sedgewick churches are involved in letting their light shine and building up the broken hearted in their towns. Through various programs and volunteer initiatives and through one-on-one relationship building, the warmth provided here through the love of Christ causes visitors to not only join our fellowship and programs but to also become a part of God’s family and experience the everlasting Spring of Joy that has come to their hearts.