Jason Silver

Friday, March 21st, 2025

Out of the Hollows

It's been so exciting here lately! Nearly all of the snow is gone, and the earth is awakening! Birds are singing, and the dead of winter has mostly passed. I am eagerly anticipating daffodils and sunshine, buzzing bees and butterflies!

As I look around, though, I find that there are a few shady shadows and hidden hollows that do not see the warmth of the sun. In those places the ice is stubbornly refusing to melt. I can almost sense a desperate battle as it clings to its cold and hopeless reality.

Although we can't see it yet, I know that plants are waking up. Beneath the surface of the earth, sprouts are unfurling, roots are taking up water, and life is reawakening!

It may be a tired metaphor, but this renewal of the earth is similar to what happens to our own cold hearts when we let the love of the Son of God shine into the crevasses and valleys of our pain. Sometimes we may find ourselves intentionally hiding behind difficult events and memories. We may even use them as a type of shade from the blast of God's peace and mercy.

And this "son" vs "sun" renewal isn’t just a play on words—Jesus himself said, in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

John's disciples expanded on this even more, when they said, "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all... If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:5-7)

Are you in pain? Are you struggling to experience the transformation available to you? Let these scriptures be an encouragement. God’s love and light can bring you to cleansing and place you in community, so we don't need to stay in our isolated, shaded hollows.