Easter = Easter Bunny and Chocolate Eggs

Earlier this week I was at the supermarket for a few bits and was using the self scanning checkout.  As I was waiting for my receipt a middle aged couple came up behind me to use it next.   She was buying a packet of marshmallow Easter eggs.  She commented to the person with her, "We eat them any time, not just on Easter weekend, so then it's not all about God.”  He nodded and commented in agreement.  This brought up a range of emotions in me and has continued to ring in my mind in the days follow.  Firstly, I felt sadness.  This couple knows that Easter is "about God" and openly said so, and yet still chose not to believe for themselves. 

Luke 8:10. He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'  

They have heard but do not understand.    I must admit, I felt like turning to them and saying, 'Why do you eat them at all and celebrate something you don't believe in? - leave the Easter eggs for me! At least I believe in what I am celebrating!”   Then I felt a glimmer of hope.  At least they acknowledged that there is a God and that Easter is to do with Him!   I wonder how many others think the same as these people.  I am sure there are many that don't even get that far. Easter is just a wonderful long weekend, the beginning of the school holidays, a chance to get together with friends and family – all these things a great too of course.  And what about the next generation, do the children know what Easter is really about?

A small survey done in 2014 in UK by the Bible Society targeting 804 children, found that young people aged 8 to 15 have little understanding of the true meaning of Easter.  More than one in three children didn’t know why we celebrate Good Friday, while for Easter Sunday it was one in four.  But perhaps more shockingly, the survey results reveal that more than a third of children believe the fable of the ‘Hare and the Tortoise’ features in the Bible. Close to a quarter of children who took part also think that the goose that lays golden eggs is also a story told in the Bible.    Other surveys done came up with similar information with many citing children believing Easter was Easter Bunny’s birthday so that’s why we search for the eggs that he leaves for us!!  Our kids are so confused!  Why do we tell these lies to our kids?  I am all in for fun and surprises, but why tell them lies and make it so complicated for them. 

Mark 10:14 – “Let the little children come to me because such is the kingdom of heaven.”  

The gospel is simple so that even the smallest child can understand and believe, why have we confused them?  Let's tell them the truth; it’s easier to believe than an Easter bunny leaving eggs!

Do we as the church, the people of God, celebrate and remember Easter well?  I wonder if some of us have moved with society too much and have forgotten the significance of The Holy Week and its crucial importance to our faith.  The next generation are confused or don’t even think about it because their parents don’t really know either.  I think we are two, and in many cases three generations removed from any knowledge or belief in the true meaning.  Have we, The Church, not told the story enough?  At Christmas we have nativity plays that retell the story of Jesus birth and Christmas carols are still played in shops and events that share the story but there isn't really an Easter equivalent.  Do we need to tell the story of Easter more?  Do you think we could reinstate the cross as the symbol of Easter instead of eggs and tell of a Saviour who brings life, in place of a fluffy bunny who brings chocolate!

This Easter, here are a couple of simple ideas (there are hundreds!) you could do at home to help your family and friends celebrate the true meaning of Easter, not just at church for one hour, but over the weekend as a family and a community. 

Egg Hunting: Use the eggs to tell the story of God's love and forgiveness.  Before you hide the eggs or put them in baskets, encircle each one with a coloured strip of paper that tells one small part of the Easter story. When the eggs have been found, the children unscramble the story and put it in the right order.  If you like to decorate eggs with dye, also write one attribute of Jesus on each egg. You can do this by writing on the egg with a crayon before you put it in the dye. Send kids on a hunt for the eggs that have Jesus' attributes written on them. Instead of just discovering eggs, they will be discovering the wonderful things that make Jesus so special.  You could tell the story of salvation by dyeing the eggs certain colours or using different foil covered chocolate eggs. Black = sin, red = Jesus blood, white = washed/pure, green=growing in God, gold= heaven.

I am all in for chocolate and look forward to eating some over Easter, but let’s claim it back off the Bunny and make it all about the sweetness of Jesus rather than the lollies!

Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who trusts in Him.”

NEW YEAR

It’s hard to believe we’re in 2015! According to the movie "Back to The Future" we should all be driving flying cars, riding hover boards, answering our phone via our glasses, be wearing self drying clothes and self lacing shoes! Some of the technology was not far off; some was way off! But nevertheless here we are.

We have just returned from a wonderful family summer holiday at Mount Maunganui beach, NZ. It was stunning weather every day and rained over night once in two weeks!

One morning I was up early and went to the beach for a walk and chat with God. It was quite early so I was not expecting to see too many people there. I was surprised to see how many people were already up and about, walking their dogs, running and enjoying the cool of the morning. By far the largest group there were the surfers - apparently the weather forecast had told them that the waves were going to be good that morning. I sat overlooking the sea and watched them and my eye fell on one in particular. He was obviously with a friend who had arrived earlier and was now out passed the breaking waves and I could now see that they were paddle-boarders. His friend was standing up on his board and was waiting for him.

I continued to watch as the man began walking out through the waves to meet his friend, pushing his paddleboard in front of him with one hand, and holding the paddle in the other. He got past the first wave, then the second, but for several minutes he kept getting knocked back. It was hard to watch, and I was feeling very sorry for him. Each time he looked like he was going to make it, a big wave would come and knock him right back to the start. He looked like he was struggling to manage the paddle and the board. I was getting frustrated for him! Was he every going to make it? He tried putting his paddle on the board, but still he kept getting knocked back and having to start over. Eventually he lay on the board with his paddle tucked under one arm and hand paddled himself passed the waves and out to his waiting friend. I felt like cheering! He and his friend then both stood up on their boards and paddled off into the distance.

Isn't life a bit like that?! We head out and seem to be going along fine but then a big wave comes and knocks us back. We have times in our journey when it feels like we are taking 2 steps forward and then getting knocked back 1 step or more! Sometimes it seems like we have been stripped of everything and are right back at the beginning. It's at these times that we have a choice to make. Do we give up and get out of the water, or do we turn around, face the waves straight on and try again?

The man was carrying his paddle in his hand. It was going to be useful to him once he got out passed the waves, but at the moment it was a burden.

What is in your hand?

Moses was embarking on a great and exciting journey, but he doubted himself. He was facing obstacles, “What if they don't believe me?", "I'm not good enough", "I don't have the skills." God asked Moses this same question - Exodus 4:18 "What is in your hand?" In Moses hand was his staff, it was his tool for his trade as a shepherd. He was familiar with it, and skilled at using it. God told him to throw it down and then added His power and performed a great sign that would later be used to release his people from slavery! The paddle-boarder did much better when he laid his paddle on the board and let the board carry it. We do so much better when we lay down what is in our hands and let Jesus have it. He can then take it and inject His power into it. This produces miracles! What do you need to lay down at the start of this year? Your plans and dream, your finances, your talents and skills, your thoughts and ideas? God will use all these, they are in your hand for a reason. You will need them, but they will be so much better with God's power added. So let them go, lay them down and see what God will do with them.

But the paddle-boarder made the most progress not when he laid his paddle on the board, but when he laid his whole body on the board! When he was lying on the board, paddle tucked under his arm, he seemed to easily cruise over the waves to his friend. We will see God do so much this year, if we surrender ourselves totally. Not only our roles, tasks and ministries, but our whole selves!

So as I embark on the journey into 2015 and all that it will hold, I choose firstly to stay in the water. Then I will turn and face the waves, lay my "paddle" and my whole self on Jesus in surrender, and totally trust and depend on his miracle working power.