Memories of Easters Past...
Dyeing Easter eggs, those unique unnatural glowing hues; the smell of vinegar, essential to the process; the annual pre-Easter cool snap; the re-greening of the outdoors; new grass, beautiful blooming azaleas. And pollen.
And Easter egg hunts. Why did we call them hunts? How hard was it to find unnaturally colored eggs sitting in the now-green yard and fresh beds? Even the more modern plastic eggs didn’t exactly blend in. They were all easy to find!
In 1980, a new breed of Easter egg entered the scene. The creator of the Atari game “Adventure” decided that he wanted to put his name as the creator in the code of the game, but he knew that he must hide it or the owners of Atari would delete it. He created a series of moves within the game that allowed players to unlock his hidden credit. It was dubbed an Easter egg, even though it was difficult to find.
Early Christians adopted a pre-existing pagan holiday of newness which was celebrated in the spring as the time to celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection. But, we must understand God and grace if Easter is to truly be a celebration.
Our God is a loving and merciful god. He is also just. The Bible repeatedly explains that there will be a time of judgment. There would be no need for love and mercy if there weren’t a judgment. God’s grace (his love and mercy for us, though we do not deserve it) is the foundation for Easter, but also the basis for our relationship with God.
God’s grace is like the old-fashioned Easter eggs. It’s readily discoverable and easy to find. It’s everywhere! There is no need to learn a complicated ritual or follow a prescribed process, or belong to a particular group, or be born into a certain sect, or race, or lineage. God’s grace and God himself are readily available to all. God’s grace was personified by Jesus’s death and resurrection. Jesus died for our sins. His sacrifice was easily understood 2,000 years ago as necessary for the forgiveness of our sins. His resurrection was necessary to demonstrate God’s power and authority – his rule over death, which would otherwise be our end because of our sins.
God’s grace is also like an Easter egg in that we don’t just see it and admire it. We have to take the affirmative step of picking it up – of simply accepting it. And then we must take it with us and share it with others. God’s grace makes all of this possible. Grab it!
Additional Readings
To each one of us, grace has been given. Ephesians 4:7
You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. Ephesians 2:8-9.
God shows his love for us because while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.
My grace is all you need. 2 Corinthians 12:9.