16th February 2026

One of my forms of exercise is to take walks with the dogs and an occasional cat or two. I spend a lot of time just trying to reign them in. Now that it is winter here, the fields are brown and lifeless, and even the hills are dull without much colour, and so I look upward to the sky for a glimpse of colour. You cannot help but wonder if life could ever come back to the plants that lay so broken and withered.

Being mortal creatures, our life has limits. Time seems so fleeting; was I not just a child not very long ago? So, we have learned to guard this life we were given and make the most of it we can. We can physically do things that help ensure a healthy and long life, but soon enough we enter into that winter period of our lives. God gave us this life we live, and I am grateful for every day that I spend with him by my side.

My physical life is just a start of the blessings God pours out to us in abundance. If I have Christ in me, I now experience true life, because by the Spirit of God we are given the freedom to live to the full, a life God has given in his righteousness, experiencing his mercy and grace. Just as these plants will return to life when the warmth of the sun, water, and light revive them, so we as well rejoice and revive with the warmth of God’s love, the water of life Jesus, and the light of the truth of God. 

Romans goes on to explain that Jesus, though he was physically dead, was raised to life again by the Spirit of God within him, and we as well will have a renewed and refreshed life, if Christ, who is our life, dwells within us (Romans 8:11).  Jesus gives not only physical life, but a life filled with purpose and meaning. I Like the way verse 12 in the NIV puts it: ‘Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation–but not to the flesh, to live according to it.’ An obligation to not only live this life God has given us, but to live it for him, in a way that will please him, that will honour him and give him praise.

How we live this life is important for us, but also for those whose lives we touch. If I choose to abuse my life or that of others, I bring the consequences of this upon others by the damage that I affect upon them by my poor actions. This can affect generations, but if I choose to live my life as God intended, then my influence brings life to them. If you do not think this happens, then look at a baby born into addiction, or children of an abusive family life.

The wonderful thing is, when Jesus enters our life, he brings to us his righteous and pure life in the Spirit. God brings not only reconciliation, but a rebirth and renewal of our life, a return to spring and the promise of a life filled and supported by the life of God within us. We were made by him, for him, and meant to live fully in him. As we are reminded: ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose’ (Romans 8:28 NIV). And that is to give us true life by his Spirit through Jesus Christ our Lord, and to love him as he loved us. 

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