Goodness through Easter

Eastertime is fun.

As a young girl, I would twirl in a new pastel dress with ribbons, carry my basket lined with plastic grass, and hunt for eggs in my grandparents' lawn. (My younger brother always got the most because the adults helped him.) It was a joyous family time of celebrating spring and eating chocolate--plus there was always yummy food at those  big family gatherings.

But how does all that fit in with the somber pictures of a cross and a tomb? My young mind separated the joy of Easter celebrations from the story of Jesus' resurrection. One was for the church service, and the other was for my grandparents' house.

And that's not how it should be. In my childish giddiness and caffeine-induced energy, I ran around and thought it was freedom. I bit into a Peep and thought it was goodness. I spun in front of the mirror and thought it was beauty. But all those things--freedom, goodness, beauty--originate in the resurrection and would not exist without it.

"Christ died for our sins . . . 

And was buried . . . 

and was raised on the third day 

according to the Scriptures," 

says I Corinthians 15:3-4.

Eventually, as an adult trying to explain Easter to my children, I began to realize what it really means. Jesus on the cross and the subsequent empty tomb are the turning point of history, the intersection of hope, and the reference point for faith.

Celebrating Easter may be fun, but Easter itself is . . . goodness. It's goodness because Jesus defeated evil when He (as a blameless substitute) suffered and died in the place of sinners. Then He defeated death when He came to life again on the third day.

So as I run around giddy with my children, dress them in their best, and munch unreservedly on seasonal treats, I can remember that all good things point to that Sunday morning when evil and death were defeated. It's when goodness was given to the world.


{This article was originally published in Naptime Reader, the newsletter for Seoul International Playgroup. You can view the entire newsletter by clicking here.}