Lettuce and the Risen Christ

It's the day after Easter and there is a thin blanket of snow covering St. Louis.

The picture above is my poor, poor lettuce seeds. Just a few days ago I witnessed a bunch of tiny little green leaves shooting out of the soil as my lettuce plants came to life. And then nature pummeled, drowned, smothered, and froze them all in a matter of hours. That is plain rude.

This must have been what the disciples felt like 4 days ago. A glimpse of new life crushed in an instant. I am a lettuce disciple and my little green saviors have been destroyed (OK, this metaphor is getting way out of hand). Sure, I can't fully empathize with their plight because my lettuce seeds cost 59 cents and have been growing for 2 weeks, and their loss was the greatest treasure in the universe. But I do understand how hard it is to hope when things get covered in snow. Whether lettuce seeds, a job, a relationship, finances, or even the death of a friend or family member, hope always seems impossible in the middle of the storm. Under the snow, everything must be lost.

The resurrection proves otherwise. The resurrection says "No, everything is not lost". All things can be brought back to life. Not just literal death, but all of the decay that sin brings to the world is now merely temporary. Death has no power over Christ, therefore death has no power over those who are in Him.

Under the snow, there is life.

Now I don't know if my lettuce seeds are quite as resilient as Jesus of Nazareth, but I know I can hope. I can always hope.