So by now, the Easter baskets have been ravaged, the toys have been torn from their packaging by sticky little hands and the kids are feeling pretty good from all the confections offered at the hands of the ever-elusive Easter Bunny. The excitement and exhilaration surrounding your early morning foray has reached its peak but is now quickly slipping away as you look around and see a pile of Cadbury Egg wrappers on the couch, empty toy packaging over by the fireplace and remnants of plastic eggs EVERYWHERE! It was fun and it was exciting, but now it’s over. What’s next?
Now you feverishly work to adorn your children with beautiful pastel colors manifested in striped clip-on ties, frilly dresses, lots of hair gel and huge hairbows in the name of being matchy-matchy…a fragile phenomenon that will last for a couple disgruntled family photos before hurtling off into stain-covered, funky haired, “son, where did you leave your tie?”-type moments. Beautiful caricatures of a moment in time now inevitably in the past. What’s next?
Later today, similar scenes will unfold in the presence of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins over plates of ham, mashed potatoes and corn. Eggs will be hidden, games will be played, and the occasion memorialized by some candid shots for the sake of social media. Yet, by the end of the day, we will all arrive back to the same question once again…that was fun, but what’s next?
The mortal emblems of Easter will have run their course.
No, I’m not throwing Easter under the bus, but I did want my descriptions to highlight the temporary nature of what and how we’ve been programmed to celebrate this holiday. We leave this day with our bellies full of candy, but our souls full of emptiness. Unless…
Friends, I present to you a message of permanence…a series of events that forever changed the landscape for our immortal souls. I give you words from the Most High that are untainted, whose relevance remains timeless because they embody a Truth unchangeable by even the mightiest and most prolific human influence. I share with you the risen Christ…the Lover of our soul Who willingly endured indescribable pain and suffering for the sole (and soul) purpose of rescuing us from ourselves. His death, although mourned, was the catalyst for what we celebrate today as we consider His victory over all things we ourselves cannot overcome…our own sin and imminent death.
Don’t inundate your children in the playful aspects of Easter without anchoring them in the Truth and importance of what and Who will stand long after any chocolate bunny, hidden easter egg or family photo will remain.
Fill the souls of your kids…they will consume whatever you put in front of them.
Matthew 28:5-6
Lead your kids and celebrate well.
Landon <><
