“It's the nasty, gritty stuff that no one wants!”
Ah, Easter, Springtime, the wonder of freshness and awakening. These are some of the themes that run through my head as I ponder the approaching Resurrection celebration. But the actuality of Springtime is a little different where I live. You see, in the winter we have this white stuff called snow, and when its on the road it gets slippery (or slippy, if you are from Prince Edward Island). So we dump sand and dirt on it to give us traction. Its a good plan, as far as it goes, but then comes more snow, and the plows have brushed away much of the dirt we used for traction, so we need more dirt. The cycle continues for approximately 5 months. This leads us to the difference. You see Spring brings a surcease of snow, and when the snow leaves, all we have left is the dirt. 5 months of dirt that has accumulated on the sides of our roads and on lawns (if that's where the snow gets piled by the snowplows). This dirt is not the pretty, healthy dirt that one finds in greenhouses or in the garden. No, it's the nasty, gritty stuff that no one wants, except when they are afraid they might slip on the road. It gets piled everywhere, and its ugly.
This brings us to Easter. Easter (or Resurrection Sunday) represents Springtime. Its the baring of all the ugly dirt that has accumulated over the winter of our discontent (gee, that sounds literary). What? You don't agree? Freshness and light, you say? But, no, mon ami, it's not. Jesus died because of the dirt, He died because we scattered this dirt all over our lives for the various fears that require sin to allay. You see, we see something that scares us, say, oh, old age for example. So, we have a choice, we can respond to it wisely and safely (like driving slower or not at all on the snow), or we can respond as Satan calls us to, with the deception of sin, like a mistress or drugs or alcohol or... well, you get the idea. These are the sins that we use for traction against death. They are also the reason that Jesus died. Like the warmth of the sun melting the snow away to reveal the gritty, nasty dirt underneath. Jesus spend His three-year ministry revealing the dirt of the world, the sin of the world, if you will.
Now if you live in the city, you have a nifty device that we don't. You have a street cleaner. I have watched these wonders of technological tidiness at work and I see a connection here also. They sweep up the accumulated filth, and leave a clean street behind. Jesus cleans our filth, and makes a clean person. But He doesn't leave him behind. He stays with Him.
The dirt I see in our yard is a good reminder of why Jesus came, dies, and rose from the grave. To Clean Us!
Have you been washed by Him yet?
My buddy Geoff lives in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada.