Easter is the wonderful exclamation of spring. The daffodils and forsynthia are such bright reflections of this hopeful season, with Easter to remind me of the ultimate renewal available to us all.
I've been thinking about how most of the first flowers of spring are yellow. It reminds me that days with more sun, more warmth, are coming. The dark cold days of winter are over and the days of growth and plenty are ahead. These beautiful natural signs are reflections of Christ's resurrection and the ultimate glory he makes possible for us all.
Christ gives us an eternal spring in the renewal of our bodies after death - Resurrection. I believe in a very literal resurrection, "The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul, yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body, yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame. " Alma 40:23
I love thinking about Christ's literal resurrection, that he is able to minister to all of us because of the first resurrection, his resurrection. It is an obvious sign that his power over death and sin is real. Think of all the people who were blessed to see him after his resurrection, over 500, that bore witness of the reality of a complete physical resurrection.
As grand as the resurrection is, it is only a portion of what he has made possible for us. Saving us from sin is his ultimate goal, and without it resurrection would mean nothing. Actually it would mean eternal torment, and we would not look forward to that kind of resurrection. I look forward to the resurrection not only because I will live forever, but because I will live forever in happiness with God and my family.
On one of the occasions that the Pharisees tried to condemn Jesus' works, they questioned his ability to forgive sins.
"And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk?
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
And he arose, and departed to his house.
But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men." Matthew 9:1-8
The condemning scribes were willing to believe that Christ could perform physical miracles but were not willing to believe he could redeem the soul, to forgive sins. Today this is something many struggle with, including me. I see all around me the physical manifestations of God and his glory, but struggle to see and comprehend the connection Christ has to saving our souls. I know it happens, it has happened in my life, redemption from sin is real. What I don't see is how it happens, how one perfect man makes it happen for every person who lived on the earth.
This plan, God's plan, requires faith. I believe that He could give us an explanation of how Christ atoned for our sins, why it is that he can take away our sin - to make sins as scarlet become white as snow - but God doesn't explain it. There is a purpose in God's withholding of these details. He wants us to trust him, to learn to believe and act upon that belief - to believe that when He says 'I provided the earth and all things in it', that we will believe and thank Him. When He says that He has provided a Savior for us so that we can return to His loving presence one day, we must believe Him.
We must have hope. The kind of hope that begins with daffodils and forsynthia and ends with our salvation through Christ.
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