With all this death and talk of death, the world is in need of some LIFE! Easter is when we celebrate life out of death. Every year, during winter, things look very dead. But the season comes when, so long as the branches are connected to the roots, new life springs forth from what looked on the outside like death. This miracle that God programmed into nature, we call "springtime."
Some things have to die in order for there to be new life, like leaves. At one time, the leaf collected life-giving nutrients from the sun, enabling the tree or vine to flourish and stay united with the root. Together, the leaf and the root nourished the branch which resulted in lush fruit. But the time came when the leaf had fulfilled its purpose and had to die. It then had to let go of the branch. Had the leaf stubbornly remained attached to the branch, it would have hindered new growth in the spring. But because the leaf has fallen to the ground in death, even in death it nourishes the tree as fertilizer. "Unless a seed falls into ground and dies remains alone but if it dies brings forth much fruit." (John 12:24)
In human life, sometimes there's things in our lives that have to die in order to nourish and allow new life. Is there something in your life that has hindered you from other things you knew you should get done? Are there dead leaves hanging on your branches that, if they were to drop off, would become fertilizer for the good things that want to blossom in your life? Maybe those things at one time were good. Maybe they at one time served a very important purpose. But that season is past. Now they have become burdensome, or there are too many of them creating a dead weight upon your branches?
Sometimes when we feel most dead and hopeless of any new life coming forth, that is when an even more traumatic thing happens; we get pruned! Many of us feel very pruned right now. We say, "I was already struggling, I was already trying to pay the bills and now I've lost my job also. Or "I was just getting my health back and now I have to stay in the house all day with no exercise." Some of you are ill, or high risk from Covid. But the branch must trust the pruning. Guess what, branches that don't bear fruit don't get pruned! The Word of God tells us, "every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit." (John 15:2) So if you're being pruned, take courage because you are very precious to God. He loves you and is preparing for bigger and better things!
The great news is, spring is here! The buds are bursting forth! A grapevine buds later than some fruit trees. Because of Covid, this is a late-blooming spring but new life is coming! I believe a cure and vaccines are coming. And that God is using this season of pruning, this RESET button on planet earth, for good. So even though things may look very dreary right now - like the grape vine that still hasn't budded, Resurrection life is on the way!
Easter is about new life. Like the leaf that died in order to give life, Jesus died to give us forgiveness and eternal life. As the tree that once looked dead is blooming, every person is ordained to enjoy this new and abundant life given to us through faith in Christ. This Easter - this Resurrection season - lets rejoice in God's reset button. The Covid situation bombards us every day with a new death toll. But amidst all that, God is up to something good. Out of tragedy, out of pruning, and out of this season of "stay at home" He is bringing forth new life. He is calling our nations to think about what needs to be pruned. He is calling us to prepare for abundance of fruit! For no matter how much we are pruned, the One who holds the pruning shears loves us. He is allowing it for our good (Rom. 8:28). So long as we remain vitally united to Him, the Root, new life will spring forth in its season.
To see how WIN is bringing resurrection, hope and life to people ravaged by poverty through the Covid shutdown in India and Nepal, check out 
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