I often learn things from my daughter. One of her favorite stories to read all year, not just at Easter is the story of Jesus being crucified. I sometimes get annoyed that she wants to read it all the time. I mean isn’t it more fun to read about Jesus’s miracles, the cool stories of how he changes lives, of Jonah being swallowed by a huge fish?! It’s so depressing to read of Jesus being beaten and crucified. I often ask her, “Why do you want to read this one again?” To which she responds to me, “Because this is the best story. This tells us how he saves us.” And this friends is why Jesus said, Let the children come to me and to have faith like a child. My daughter gets Jesus better than I do sometimes.
So even though we’ll do Easter egg hunts, and put chocolate in a basket we know that this is not what we celebrate this weekend. We celebrate that even though today is a dark day, it is also a beautiful day. This Good Friday we bow our heads and remember our king being crucified. But Sunday we celebrate that He rose in victory. He rose from the dead. And this is true Freedom. He brings us freedom as a result of his sacrifice and suffering. He brings freedom now and for eternity.
I hope you enjoy this video. It’s a sweet reminder of what we celebrate this weekend (and all year). It’s worth the 4 minutes to let the words and images wash over you.
Thanks Jody for sharing! It’s so beautiful to hear and be reminded of God’s incredible grace. You (and your daughter) put it very well!! Blessings this Easter.