He’s Aliiiiiive!!
By
Jeannine Sawall
“The
angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for
Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He
said. Come, see the place where He was lying.’ And they left the tomb quickly
with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.”
Matthew
28:5-6, 8 (NIV)
My family often has gone camping over Easter and we aren’t always able to find a traditional church service to celebrate Easter. One tradition we’ve developed, though, is to celebrate our own Easter service around the campfire while sharing the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection using Resurrection Eggs.
Resurrection Eggs are a dozen plastic eggs, each filled with some symbol to represent a part of the Easter story. We pass the eggs out to the kids and anyone we’ve invited to join us for our celebration, and when we come to their part of the story, we let them tell it in their own words. Years ago, as we went around the campfire circle, listening again to the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, His betrayal, trial, beating by the Roman soldiers and His death on the Cross, we finally came to my youngest son who held the last egg. When he opened it, the egg was empty, representing the empty tomb. At the time, Josh was just four and so I wasn’t sure he would understand the meaning behind the empty egg, let alone how he would explain his part of the story. As he opened his egg and realized there was nothing in it, he stood up and in a loud, joyous voice began singing “He’s aliiiiiiiiiive! He’s aliiiiiiiiive! Jesus is aliiiiiiive!!” Everyone around the campfire smiled at his enthusiasm and joined his celebration.
As I remember back to that special night of celebrating Jesus’ death and resurrection, I am amazed by the conviction and passion my young son had. He got it! Jesus is not dead; He is alive! It is something to stand up and sing about! He understood, even at that tender age, what a miracle it is. He did not hesitate or try to explain it in complicated terms. He accepted it for face value and stated it simply…the tomb is empty, Jesus is alive! It makes me want to stand up and sing and let the whole world know…our Savior is not dead, He is alive today, and we serve a living God!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Does the story of Easter make you want to stand up and sing with great joy, letting the whole world know the tomb stands empty? If not, ask the Lord to fill you with His passion for His story.
FURTHER READING:
John 2:19; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 13:30
Jeannine
is a wife and active mother of four boys. She works in property management.
Jeannine serves with the Oakwood CAFÉ and is actively involved in ministry to
those walking through grief.
