How I Should Have
Spent Easter Morning . . .
"Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord
Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the
sinful nature." (Rom. 13:14)
In the weeks prior to Easter in our community, advertisements abound for
Easter Egg Hunts in the Park. I had never attended one of these "hunts",
but for some reason, this particular year (5 years ago!) I felt compelled
to go. I had heard from several sources that the hunt was for candy eggs,
I had even been told to "come early" because of all the people who would
be there. But somehow, my highly-imaginative mind had drawn up a
romantic picture of a few well-behaved children searching through the
woods for colored eggs hidden in tree branches, under clumps of leaves,
behind the newly-sprouted crocuses . . . You get the picture! So my
husband and I got up early to get the boys ready on time, and sure enough,
there we were, 45 minutes before the advertised "start". And we weren't
alone! The place was already crowded, and hundreds more were arriving by
the moment. Though it was a bright, sunny day, an icy wind blew right
through our winter ware, and it wasn't long before the kids and I were
just plain COLD! This didn't daunt their excitement, however. They had
absorbed my previous excitement about the outing, and NOTHING was going to
stop them from participating in their Easter Egg Hunt! As "start" time
drew closer and closer, I began wondering when they were going to go out
and "hide" the eggs. Then I began to wonder just where were they
going to hide them! Though there were woods in the distance, the place we
had been told to meet was flat and grassy, with nary a sign of a hiding
place for an Easter Egg! You can just imagine my disappointment, when a
man from the city went out into the open field with a bucket of chocolate
eggs and "threw" them into the air! So much for my romantic idea of an
Easter Egg Hunt in the woods! But what horrified me even more was what
happened to the kids! No sooner had a candy landed, when 5 kids pounced
on it. Of course, only the bottom child came up with the candy, unless a
bigger child on top managed to pry it from the winner's hand. It was like
these boys and girls were suddenly transformed into a pack of vultures!
And my boys were right in the neck of it all! Only they weren't fast
enough. They didn't come up with ANY candy! Needless to say, all of us
went away with a bit of a sour taste in our mouths, wondering why on Earth
we had chosen to do this instead of the now-more-appealing
alternative: Go to church!
But as I think back on this event, there are
some important lessons to be learned!
Lesson #1: I had been warned what to
expect at this "Easter Egg Hunt", but I had chosen to ignore what I had
been told, ever holding onto my fanciful, romantic ideas! Likewise, Jesus
Himself had told His followers numerous times that He would have to die,
but after 3 days He would raise up from the dead: "The Son of Man is
going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after
three days he will rise." (Mark 9:31) But somehow, no one had seemed
to understand. Not only was His death a shock to everyone, but
not even one of them expected Him to rise from the dead! My friends, stop
hearing only what you "wish" to hear and start listening to the facts!
And where can these "facts" be found? In my case, they could be found in
the sound advice of those who had been to "Easter Egg Hunts in the Park"
before. In the case of Jesus' disciples, they had the "cold, hard facts"
straight from the mouth of God! And so do we, my friends! "Straight from
the mouth of God"--in His Holy Word--is everything we need to live
the kind of wondrous life God intends for each of us. Let's all make an
effort to put aside our fanciful, romantic notions and start digging into
the Word of God for the facts!
Lesson #2: My family and I made a
poor decision. We chose to hunt Easter eggs instead of going to
church! Instead of receiving a blessing by contemplating the story of the
World's greatest gift to mankind, we chose to seek the pleasures of
the World. Our reward? Total disillusionment, all romantic notions
shattered, frozen fingers and toes, and worst of all, disappointed little
boys. But this kind of choice doesn't appear just once a year! We
face it everyday! Sunday evening service vs. the Football game.
Read the Bible vs. watch ER on TV. Bake a loaf of bread for a needy
family vs. going shopping. Purchase a new set of J.R.R. Tolkein
books vs. give $20.00 to missions. Spending time in prayer vs. -- I
think you are beginning to get the picture! Oh, the football game,
the TV show, shopping, the new set of books . . . now these all seem so
appealing. But when we are finished, what have we gained? Shattered
notions? Disappointment? Frozen fingers and toes? But think of what we
might have gained from choosing the "not-so-appealing" options? Eccl.
2:26 says: "To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge,
and happiness"!
Lesson #3: Though at least 5 years
have gone by since this memorable Easter morning, the thought of those
kids being transformed into a pack of vultures by a few pieces of candy
still fills me with horror. (And to think that I purposefully exposed my
two precious little boys to that! This horrifies me even more!) Oh, it
seemed innocent enough, but that little "foray" led those innocent
children into greed, competition, even violence. And all over a
piece of candy! But isn't this what happens when we choose the
things of this world over the things of God? Doesn't it happen that each
time we go down the sinful paths of the world, it becomes easier and
easier to give in to temptation? We argue with ourselves, saying: “It
doesn’t matter. Falling into sin won’t hurt me! Jesus will forgive me
and cleanse me when I am finished!” And you are right. Jesus will
forgive you, for you are under grace. But each time you travel down the
paths of sin, it begins to lose its “sinful” appearance. You continue to
put yourself in danger of “slipping” and causing serious damage and
permanent scarring to your character. Worst of all, just like my poor
kids were drawn into the "vulture" hunt, the crippling consequences of
your self-indulgence may get someone else into trouble—someone who isn’t
as strong as you are, or who doesn’t know Jesus like you do. “Be
careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a
stumbling block to the weak . . . So this weak brother, for whom Christ
died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers
in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.”
(1 Cor.:9-13). Is it any wonder that Heb. 12:1 tells us to “Throw
off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles”?
You will be happy to hear that I learned my
lesson 5 years ago, and this next Easter morning will NOT find me in a
park--unless, of course, it is to attend a Sunrise Prayer Service! No,
this year I choose to "clothe [myself] with the Lord Jesus Christ, and
do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
(Rom 13:14), for I know that this is the true source of happiness and
joy!
So what will it be for each of you, my
friends? Will it be an Easter Egg Hunt in the park? Or even in your back
yard? Or just for once, why not try Jesus this Easter? Believe me, you
won't be sorry you did! No frozen fingers and toes, no disillusionment,
no torn-apart romantic ideas. Just 100% wisdom, knowledge and happiness!
To answer the Savior's Call,
Click here (http://answers2prayer.org/saviours_call.html).
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