An old preacher was on a ship in which the wind was blowing over 100 miles an hour. He started to pray, "God, send us the spirit of the children of Israel, the children of Moses, the children of the Promised Land." Another brother began to pray, saying, "Lord, don't send nobody. Come Yourself, this ain't no time for children." Easter is not really for children. That is why the Mel Gibson movie is rated R. Easter is about sin and death and the hurt that it causes.
When our daughter Kasey was about four years old, she fell and hurt her chin on a coffee table. When I arrived the bleeding had stopped, and she was playing with a friend, but I knew the cut needed stitches. Our doctor told us to bring her to the emergency room. I told Kasey we needed to go to the hospital to sew up her chin, and she told me I didn't understand. Her chin didn't hurt anymore. Have you ever tried reasoning with a four year old? I finally just got on my knees and asked if she knew I loved her. She said yes she did, and I told her I would never hurt her but that her chin would never be the same unless it had stitches. Tears came to her eyes and she said, "Yes Sir."
Being a psychologist, I promised her that we would go to K-Mart for a prize after we went to the hospital. We passed K-Mart on the way and she said, "Daddy, I have a better idea, why don't we go to K-Mart first?" Pretty smart kid. As we walked into the hospital, she took my hand and said, "Daddy, hold onto me and don't let me go." The doctor put a papoose on her — looked like a straight jacket to me. She smiled at me and motioned for me to hold her foot. It was tough, and I thought that she would never have anything to do with me again and probably wouldn't even go to K-Mart with me. But then I felt her hand in mine, and she said, "Daddy, I love you. Thanks for holding onto me." My friend, you will go through difficult times, and it's okay to cry. Remember the cross. It means that God is not going to let you go no matter what the circumstances.
There was a young boy who lived in south Florida who had a bad day at school. His house was on a lake and when he got home, he just hit the water and began to swim. When he was about halfway out into the lake, he looked up and realized that he was nose to nose with an alligator. He made a U-turn and swam as hard and fast as he could, yelling the whole time. A neighbor saw what was happening and called 911. His mom saw him and dove into the lake. The alligator and his mom arrived at the boy about the same time. There was a tug-of-war, but his mom won. When he was released from the hospital the news media was there, and they asked to see the scars from the alligator. The young boy showed them the scars, then told them he wanted them to see his other scars. He showed the media his arm. Those were the scars from where his mother wouldn't let go.
Have you ever wondered why, when Jesus returned from the grave, he still had the scars? He had a perfect body but still had the scars. I believe they are for us. He wanted us to know that God doesn't let go even in death. This Easter, let's think about His scars and ours, and remember not what the world does to us but what He did for us. When you are in the emergency room of life and hurting desperately, remember that God is the perfect Father. Many times I'm just like my daughter, I want the prize first, but in this world of sin and death, the pain comes first then God promises the prize.
There has been a lot of publicity this Easter about the movie The Passion of the Christ. Actually, because of what Christ did on the cross, life is like a movie. He writes the script, and we play the part. When Charlton Heston was starring in Ben Hur, he was having trouble with the chariot. Finally, the director told him that it was really simple. It was just a movie. Heston just had to stay on the chariot, and the director would make sure he won. The best I can tell you is that, because of Easter, life is like a movie in which God has written the final scene. Because of the cross, we win the race, and He gives us the prize. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
