Do you remember the first set of plans you ever saw? Do you remember the first set of plans you ever had in your hands? For me it was for a model ship I was given as a special gift. It was plastic, not large, but it was complicated enough to be challenging and the final result was thoroughly satisfying. The directions for models, if followed precisely, will usually result in a promised final product.
Some may have similarly acquired plans for building a house or an addition to a house – an exciting project to venture into. With a lot of hard work, and following the procured plans, a lovely residence is built. However, if someone decides to ignore the plans, the desired outcome is not achieved. Sometimes quite the opposite can actually occur.
How wonderful is the plan of God, which we will begin rehearsing once again by observing the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. Winter is nearly over and spring is about to begin. The testimony of spring speaks loudly to us about the plan of God. Each year, winter inevitably follows autumn. The landscape is gripped by the killing cold and enveloped by ice and snow. Virtually all outdoor life seems to vanish. Grass disappears and deciduous trees lose their leaves. Living off the land becomes nearly impossible. What if winter continued for longer than normal? What if winter somehow, some way became “stuck” and lasted for a whole year? There are those who postulate that with nuclear war there would likely be a nuclear winter. Thankfully, spring always follows winter and does so right on schedule every year.
There are very few people who say that winter is their favorite season. Most people say their favorite season is either spring or summer or even autumn. Each of these three seasons has something special and unique to offer. And they all seem to go by so very quickly. We wonder why winter seems to last such a long time. Winter is a harbinger of death itself, which few people look forward to. In fact, we sometimes envy bears because they can escape winter each year through the remarkable process of hibernation.
Many of us know what it means to suffer from cabin fever. There’s also the effect of what is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder. Those experiencing it become depressive because of the lack of adequate sunlight during the winter months. When spring finally arrives, how jubilant most of us are. When we hear the song of the first meadowlark or robin, our hearts leap with joy.
There is a parallel between the seasons and the progression of each day. Some are morning people and function best until midday and begin to wane by noon. Others prefer the afternoon and say they function best then. Yet others enjoy the evening and look forward to that part of each day most of all. However, night can be a trial for some people. Most everyone suffers from occasional bouts of insomnia. It is not a pleasant experience! We toss, we turn, we fluff up the pillow, we adjust the covers and still sleep eludes us. We finally get out of bed, make a cup of tea and do some work at the computer or in the kitchen as we await the dawn. Under such circumstances, night seems interminable and the arrival of dawn a most welcome relief.
What if the night became “stuck” and the dawn failed to arrive? What if there were such a thing as a nuclear night? Something similar happens with volcanic eruptions when the atmosphere becomes thick with pumice and soot. If it turned dark as night for a whole week, life on this planet could come to a halt a lot quicker than we might imagine.
How grateful we should be for the arrival of dawn each morning. How grateful we should be for the arrival of spring each year. If winter or night got stuck, we humans would be totally helpless to fix the problem. No nation, scientific agency or entity would have the power or means to change the inclination of the earth or repair its spinning on its axis.
Even as humans are unable to save themselves physically, they are even more unable to save themselves spiritually. How increasingly grateful we should be for God’s wondrous plan of salvation. As we observe this year’s Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread let us do so with heightened joy, zeal and appreciation.
