Happy Easter!
Dan Kunz
Chances are, by the time you read this, you’ve probably already colored your Easter eggs. If you don’t get at your emails right away, you may have already eaten some! When I was a boy, I learned a cool way to color eggs which our family still does today. (Okay, I mainly do.) Take out a box of old, broken crayons. (Everyone saves their old crayons, don’t they?) Take two or three different colors, peel off any remaining paper, break them into small pieces, and put them into a quart or sandwich-size plastic bag. After the eggs are boiled, while they are still relatively hot, put one into the bag and “massage” the crayon pieces around the egg. Unless you have hands of steel, I would strongly recommend wearing fairly thick gloves to do this. As you try this, you will become more creative in the colors you combine and the way you distribute them on the eggs. Two things become obvious about this method very quickly – the results are absolutely beautiful, and the eggs are completely unique. No two, even with the same colors, will turn out alike.
As we celebrate the joyous resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, it’s good to remember a few important lessons.
· Our Heavenly Father loved us so much, he sent his only Son to live the life of a lowly human being, submit to the cruelest and most excruciating death we can imagine, and be abandoned by God himself, all in our place. Such love (grace) is truly amazing!
· The price for our lives of rebellion has been paid in full. Jesus, himself, said it while hanging on the cross – “It is finished.” His resurrection on Easter Sunday morning is our guarantee. Not only that, it’s a promissory note which guarantees our resurrection through faith in the Savior’s perfect life and perfect death.
· Like my crayon eggs, you and I are now beautiful in God’s eyes! Because of Jesus’ robes of righteousness given to us (without cost), we are no longer ugly in God’s sight because of our lives of sin and wretchedness. God’s eyes sparkle and his mouth smiles when he sees us. We are now, literally, unforgettable to him.
· Also like the crayon eggs, we are truly unique. Psalm 139:13 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Our Heavenly Father created us for a life of service with all kinds of skills, abilities, gifts, and characteristics to do the job. Because each of us is one-of-a-kind, we have a special place in his plans and his world. We should remember that, not so we become vain and arrogant, but so we can thank God daily for all the mercies and blessings with which he has gifted us.
As you celebrate Easter throughout the year, remember God’s unbelievable love, Jesus willing payment of your bill, your beauty in God’s eyes, and your uniqueness among the billions of inhabitants of our world. Easter eggs don’t have to be just for Easter! Matthew 28:5-6 “The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”
He is risen! He is risen, indeed!