Find signs of spring

March can be a tough time of year. It's supposed to be spring, but there's still snow on the ground and nothing is green yet! It's hard to believe that spring is really coming when everything around you looks like winter.

Jesus' followers had trouble believing new life was coming in the spring, too. When Jesus told them that people who die really live with God in heaven, they weren't sure they trusted Him. But in this week's Gospel (John 11:1-45), He proves it.

When Jesus heard that His friend Lazarus was sick, He went to see him. But when Jesus and His disciples got there, Lazarus had died. "I am the resurrection and the life," Jesus told everyone. "If you believe in me, even if you die, you will live again." He told them to open Lazarus' grave and called into the cave, "Lazarus, come out!" And Lazarus walked out of the tomb, alive and well.

The people Jesus met were like that. Just like you're sick of snow, they were sick of people dying. When Jesus got to the place where Lazarus had died, they yelled at Him: "If you were here, Lazarus wouldn't have died!"

Looking for signs of spring is better than complaining because it's not here yet. It IS already getting warmer outside, and the robins have come back. That means spring will come soon!

When people complained about dying, Jesus reminded them that heaven was coming. He said that anyone who believed in Him could go to heaven and live with God after they died here -- and to prove that God makes dead people live, Jesus brought Lazarus back to life.

In a way, Lazarus was like a robin or a warm day. He reminded us that even when we can't see it, new life is coming!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me look for signs of spring -- and signs of you! Amen.

(03-18-99)