A Journey to Mars

Spring is showing its face here on Western Ave in Belltown. I walk to the campus most days and today I especially noticed the new leaves and blossoms on the trees. The pigeons were cooing, the sun was shining and it seemed things were coming alive all around me. The cracks in the sidewalks that had previously fallen into the gray of wet concrete popped and the water of the Sound glimmered like a little kid showing off his freshly brushed teeth through a proud smile. As I was thinking about these things it occurred to me that spring has long been, as I experienced it today, a sign of new things to come.

You see, in winter most plants lose their leaves and go into hibernation. During this time they seal themselves up to fend off the cold and darkness, they grow very little and spend hardly any energy on seeking sustenance from the soil. In fact, they almost die. But then the earth is pulled back towards the sun in its cosmic tango and the axis of the earth begins to come around in favor of our hemisphere and the rays of the sun morph from daggers to swords piercing the atmosphere reaching the earth reviving the almost dead of our hemisphere and life is revived!

Amazing.

I find it no coincidence that the Mars Hill Church Downtown Campus has been, it seems, ushered in by spring. The transformation of a night club has taken place in a dark and cold season only to emerge among the leaves as a building in which the church will gather to worship Jesus. We have brought Jesus, the Light of the world, into Belltown - a neighborhood whose inhabitants have long been surviving a winter of sin.

I would like to make a grandiose analogy of how Jesus gives new life to hearts much like spring brings life to the northwest, but I think you get it. Instead I’ll leave you with this last thought: Proverbs 4:23 says “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” This is my prayer in writing these thoughts; that as we begin to pump Jesus into our community as a heart pumps blood, we would take time to examine our hearts. The excitement of a new campus has dwindled and we are now in it with both feet. We are susceptible now to ignoring motivation and discipline and to fight off those things we must focus on Jesus and the truth of His gospel. We must reflect on the grace He has given us and the transformation the Spirit has brought into our lives. We must repent of our sin and love Jesus. We must get involved and join the mission of Mars Hill Church to bring new life to Belltown through the atoning work of our Lord and Savior: Jesus Christ.

Grace and Peace to you this spring.