Spring Peepers Carry Their Cross, Do You?
Spring Peepers Carry Their Cross, Do You?
Every year around February I begin to get excited about the coming of spring. The first indicator for me that winter is loosing its grip is when I begin to hear winter breeding frogs like chorus frogs and spring peepers. The bird like call of spring peepers gets me the most excited because conditions have to be warmer for them to come out than their cousins the chorus frogs. The spring peeper’s Latin name is Pseudacris crucifer. They have a very prominent cross or X shape on their back, hence the species name “crucifer.”
They are a very visual representation of the crucifixion of Jesus and they even start their springtime reveling right before Easter. I tend to think of them as a proclamation of good news that winter is over and spring is about to begin. The death of winter is over and the new life of spring is just around the corner. Their timing with the celebration of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is icing on the cake.
We as believers in Jesus Christ need to be more like these frogs, visibly carrying our crosses but joyfully calling out and proclaiming the glory of God to a cold world. Matthew 16:24 says, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Even though spring peeper frogs are designed to withstand the cold of late winter and early spring, it still must be uncomfortable for them to emerge and dutifully announce the coming of spring. We as believers in Jesus Christ need to deny ourselves and pick up our crosses, so that a dying world can see that just around the corner spring has sprung. New life is on the way! Spring peepers carry their crosses, do you?
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