What a glorious time is spring! After another cold grey winter, it’s so refreshing to see green grass once again! It’s also exciting to see the beautiful yellow daffodils blooming from bulbs that came from my parents’ home. In addition, the advent of spring graces our ears with gobbling turkeys, peeping peepers, and a chorus of songbirds singing for their mates. The explosion of springtime around us gives us yet more reasons to praise our incredible Creator!
The abundance of visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory sensations that accompany spring pave the way for those of the palate with morel mushrooms, ramps, and other tasty treats that will soon arrive. All of these signs remind us of the new life available to all through Jesus Christ. When we accept Him as our Savior, His Holy Spirit enters in and makes all things new. Springtime is a physical reminder from Creation of this great spiritual reality.
But spring can also remind us of another spiritual truth as well: Heaven! Jesus spoke of Heaven as a place of great delight and John struggled to find earthly terms to describe the beauty and grandeur he saw on his out-of-this-world field trip in the book of Revelation. Crippled by inadequate language, he repeatedly uses the phrases “as it were” or “like unto,” indicating that he was having trouble putting all the splendor he saw into words.
Interestingly, John used the most valuable materials from this world to describe what he experienced like streets of gold, gates of pearl, foundations of emeralds, rubies, and other gems. But he also described a tree, a glorious fountain, and a life-giving river. Any one of these would be enough to make earth-bound humans yearn for this incredible residence, but when combined, Heaven becomes the perfect location, location, location that is every realtor’s envy.
Through the annual springtime, God offers us a glimpse of what eternity in His Heaven will be like. It whets our appetite for more and makes us crave such an existence 24/7/365. Each of the other seasons have their own unique beauty and delights, but the yearly arrival of this time of renewal best captures eternal glory.
Except… Believe it or not, some people dread springtime because of the pollen and allergy symptoms they experience each year. Itching eyes, running noses, and sneezing sinuses have a way of dampening the otherwise grand effects of this season. Thankfully, Heaven will be like springtime with none of those negative effects, for John also tells us the best thing about this eternal dwelling place in Revelation 21.
In this most wonderful of Scriptures, we are promised that, “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away!” (Revelation 21:4). Not only will it be springtime without allergies, it will be springtime without death or pain! That will only be possible because of what the earlier verses tell us, “God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
Just as shadows capture only the dim dark outline of whatever figure the sun strikes, springtime and other earthly pleasures are only a bland glimpse of Heavenly realities. Hawaiian natives knew iron existed because wood with embedded nails washed up on their beaches. Nevertheless, they had no idea where it came from or all of its potential until Captain Cook’s boats arrived in 1778. So too, the blessings of springtime wash up on our shores and only hint of all God has in store. I can’t wait to experience Heaven’s fullness!
Although springtime can be enjoyed by all below, Heaven will only be enjoyed above by those who accept Jesus as their Savior. If you have never confessed and turned from your sins and received the free gifts of forgiveness and grace Jesus died to provide, do so today that you might see the realities that spring foreshadows! Blessings, George