I always look forward to Spring - everyone (including myself) is restless and wanting to open the doors and get outside. The sun makes more of an appearance, the breezes are warming up and the trees begin to bravely bud in the anticipation that summer will come. Earth day marks the middle of April - a celebration of the earth waking up and the amazing beauty of God's creation all around us. But this April has been a difficult one.
With CNN on the background as I write this - the news here on earth is devastating. Today the death toll in Nepal from the massive earthquake earlier this week is already over 5,000 and is steadily climbing. Closer to home the city of Baltimore is reeling from civil unrest, violence and cries for justice as people lose their lives, inflict pain, and live in fear. The pain here on earth seems to overshadow the beauty of celebrating God's creation on Earth Day. The Earth and its inhabitants are in pain. I'm reminded of the passage in Romans chapter 8: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God."
"...liberated from its bondage to decay" - those words have deeper meaning in the face of the sadness we have watched unfold. Our earth, our bodies, our societies are in bondage to the decay that was brought about when sin entered the world. But this verse is not without hope - we 'wait with eager expectation' for the freedom God promises to His children.
Spring is an annual reminder of new life and sometimes - as this spring has proven - is also a reminder of decay. Yet even in the midst of devastation and pain, God is faithful and His promises are trustworthy. I hope that today you too can find hope in the promises of God's word - and use that knowledge to share it with the world around you facing seemingly insurmountable circumstances. At PET we serve the underpriveleged and the downtrodden everyday with this message of hope and the promise of a brighter future.
For more information about PET or how you can get involved - visit our website at www.petwestmichigan,org
