“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
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org