RE: The Best Prefix in the English Language

This morning my son and I peacefully strolled across our back yard together. Only a few patches of snow lingered here and there, like small arctic islands in a sea of dead sod. At least, the grass appeared to be dead, prompting Austin to comment, "It's funny how we all look forward to spring, but when the snow finally melts it exposes all the ugliness and death beneath it."

Of course, we both new the grass wasn't really dead, though the yard certainly did look pitifully drab. So why did we feel upbeat? Because winter is behind us. I asked him, "Would you rather be in a dreary place heading to a tropical paradise on the first day of spring break, or in a tropical paradise heading to a chilly destination on the last day of spring break?" The answer is obvious. What matters most isn't where you are now, but where you are heading. Springtime and Easter are about hope -- hope in the promises of a redeeming God. It's about hope that anticipates beauty, warmth, and new life. This season is all about my favorite words: the RE words.

For over a year now, I have been writing a book called "The ABCs of God: Who God really is, and what He says about Himself." As we enter spring and the Easter season, I thought I'd share with you what I wrote for the letter R. The word I chose is REDEEMING, but as you will see, it includes many more RE words...

REDEEMING the fallen, the broken, the lost,
He paid a tremendous, exorbitant cost.
Despite our condition, He didn’t think twice
to pick up our scraps and remit the full price.
Christ our redeemer is always reclaiming,
recouping, refreshing, rebuilding, renaming,
retrieving, remaking, reforming, redoing,
repairing, reshaping, restoring, renewing.
God specializes in people who’ve failed,
whose hope has dried up, whose last ship has sailed.
When others say no, our Redeemer says yes,
then works a great miracle out of the mess.

Whatever it is that you've faced in your past, today is a new day -- a day that you can find hope in the promises of the Redeemer. Where you've been does not have to be where you are going. And this is true because of one more RE word -- the ultimate, most wonderful, most powerful RE word of all.

RESURRECTION!