We are in a special season of the year when we begin to see the signs of spring, the period of daylight is longer, we have switched to Daylight Savings Time, and we move through the Season of Lent. This is my favorite time of year. The beauty of the spring season reminds us that God is the creator of all things and that He sustains that which He has created. The signs of spring are everywhere - flowers are bursting forth in bloom, trees begin to bud and form leaves, and the grass is growing and reminds of the renewal of life. It is a special season of the year.

We are also in the period that brings our attention to the essence of our Christian faith. The Season of Lent directs our attention to the events of the passion of Christ - His final days of earthly ministry, His denial and abandonment by His own followers, His arrest and trial, and His crucifixion on "The Old Rugged Cross" at Calvary. It is, finally, the season in which we come together on Easter Sunday (which is April 1 this year) to celebrate that the Tomb is empty - that He is alive - that Jesus arose on the third day - that He truly arose!

These historical facts - that Jesus died on the Cross for the redemption for our sins and that He arose from the dead on the third day and that the tomb is empty - should direct our every thought and deed. We are people of the Crucified and Resurrected Lord. There were many others crucified on crosses during the days of the Roman empire - it was the most excruciating form of capital punishment - but there's one major difference in the case of the crucifixion of Jesus - He arose from the dead. And it is His intention that we live as people of the Resurrection - each and every day - not just on Easter Sunday - but every day of our lives.

May we be people of the Resurrection - in word and in deed!