His little tyke heart overflowed with Easter love. His piggybank was empty. The Easter bunny gives holiday candy, but this child of God’s soul was seeking the true gift of HOLYDAY Easter.
With no money in his pockets, this tiny lad went shopping — not for a gift from him but for Christ’s gift to him and his family. Sunday School was the storehouse he visited to secure Easter’s most treasured gift. The devoted teachers there had promised to share Easter meaning come Sunday gathering; and, yes, the children could take home and share hands and hearts full of this blessing.
Into his classroom, the loving rascal ran. Into a vacant chair at the worktable, he plopped. With eager anticipation, he was more than ready to lay hold of the “bestest” of Easter gifts to share with his family.
Bright colored paint, sparkly stickers and a basket full of eggs adorned the center of the table. With wide open eyes, the circle of little ones was filled with glee as they awaited story time followed by craft creation, symbolizing the meaning of the day’s Church message.
Tiny ears listened as the story of the Resurrection of Jesus was shared. The Gates of Heaven opened as Jesus rose from the now empty tomb. All sins were forgiven because Jesus temporarily died so we could eternally live. The tradition of Easter eggs symbolizes the empty tomb from which Jesus emerged in resurrected life on Easter Sunday — just as a baby chick cracks open and pops out of an egg.
Bible story having been relayed, each child was then charged with choosing an egg from the basket and decorating it with Easter glory. While the other children’s hands grabbed for an egg and bright sparkling embellishments, our story’s highlighted little boy sat back and pondered deeply. For him, the words just heard were not an opening for fancy, ornamental covering but rather salvation squeezing through cracks of worldly death and reaching life that death cannot hinder nor hold.
By the time our little soul was ready to secure his egg, only one remained. It had not been chosen by any other little person. Why? To the eyes of most, it was because it was not perfect. Its shell was marred and splintered. However, in the sight of this wise child of God, the imperfect egg was the blessing of the perfect Easter gift. While the other moppets painted and sparkled up their eggs, the miniature old soul admired the core authenticity of his newfound treasure. It proclaimed the true story of Easter Resurrection!
Adult supervision inquired why this little tyke chose not to glamourize his egg. The preschooler responded in scholar knowledge: Jesus took my dark sin and cleaned it all away. Because God loves and forgives me, my soul shines white, not stained with all my wrongs. Jesus broke the shell of death and came out to love and lead me. My egg’s cracks are the victory scars of Jesus breaking sin. Jesus wants me to remember what he did for me out of His love. Isn’t it forgetting to color over cracks and disguise them, so they worldly disappear? Easter’s make-believe caricature, a material bunny, brightly paints and hides eggs. The true character of Easter, Jesus, reveals redemption and washes all as white as snow. My egg is the gift of Easter, JESUS!!
“I hear the Saviour say thy strength indeed is small. Child of weakness watch and pray, find in Me thine all in all. Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.” ((Jesus Paid It All – Passion Lyrics)
Uplifted in a Broken Down World 