I can not take credit for the title of this particular Higher Grounds. I read it on a church sign this week. But it got my blood to boiling as I know of church's in my area that promote the Easter Bunny on Sunday. Oh yes they do....by having an Easter egg hunt.
If the Easter Bunny did not rise from the dead, then Who did?
Why, oh why, have we allowed pagan rituals into a very sacred time as Brothers and Sisters in Christ? Easter is NOT about the Easter Bunny or Easter Egg hunts, it is about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The placement of the Son of God on the Cross at Calvary for YOUR sins, MY sins and the sins of the world. The Easter Bunny was not placed on the cross nor in a tomb.
Easter is about Christ placed in a BORROWED TOMB. And three days later, rising from the dead, walking earth once again, and going to the Father. Easter is about the temple curtain being torn in two so that YOU AND I can have 24/7/365 access to The Father, OUR FATHER. We no longer go through a Levitical priest, but straight to the Father.
Hallelujah!!! Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.
As we go about the next three days, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Resurrection Sunday....may we push the pagan rituals out of our lives and rise with the freedom to shout, HE IS RISEN INDEED! "He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and give this message to his disciples, including Peter: Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died!." Mark 16:6b-7
Enough.said.lovingly.....Yolanda
Higher Grounds
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24 comments:
Yolanda, I know you said you don't take credit for the title but Sister, I was shouting on the Title before I even read the rest!
Then I shouted some more! Praise God! Your message is telling the TRUTH we have to be careful of all of the rituals and be focused on the true meaning of this precious and powerful season -- the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord.
I'm ok with baskets and stuffed animals but that is not the focus and is not the true meaning and we must know that and teach children that as well.
Love ya!
Amen and Amen sister-friend!
I have never seen that titile before!Wow!
This was a great post...our focus needs only to be on Christ and what He did for us.Our children always got an Easter Basket, but they knew what the real reason for Easter was...that's so important that we as parents teach them these truths.
We are having a special Good Friday service tonight based on the Passion of Christ...should be powerful!
Easter Blessings,my friend!
Susan
Oh! Someone had to say it!
Preach it sister!!
We gave up the pagen rituals years ago but we just celebrated our first Christian Passover Seder as a family, this year.
We went to 2 demonstration Passover Seders for the last couple of years but this was our first.
It was so wonderful to celebrate a holiday that our Lord celebrated!
Praise Him!!
I can always expect the best from you!
Our church did a community easter egg hunt as an outreach this year and I was surprised about it. I understand the concept and the purpose but still we give the wrong message.
I agree with you that the focus of Easter is the Lord Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the dead!! Hallelujah for that!
With that said, I participated in Easter egg hunts and the "Easter bunny" came to my home on Easter morning when I was a child and it just added to the wonder of the whole day. My parents were very definite in what Easter was truly about but the egg hunts and the Easter bunny was such a sweet and childlike part of the whole thing. It is my hope parents keep it in perspective for their little ones.
I am torn - because many of the customs of long ago about Easter and the Easter Egg were good symbols of what they represented. Here is some info I found to show what I mean:
"Christians consider eggs to be "the seed of life" and so they are symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In England, Germany and some other countries, children rolled eggs down hills on Easter morning, a game which has been connected to the rolling away of the rock from Jesus Christ's tomb when he was resurrected. British settlers brought this custom to the New World."
Trust me - I'm not pushing the Easter Bunny... though my kids did do all that stuff when they were young children. The sad part is that we have lost the 'testimony' of many of these customs... like the one that says:
"children rolled eggs down hills on Easter morning, a game which has been connected to the rolling away of the rock from Jesus Christ's tomb when he was resurrected."
That's a beautiful picture of the ressurection to teach and show our children - the problem is the message gets lost in the 'hunt' - if you hear what I'm saying.
Yes, there is a lot of customs of idol worship connected with pre-Easter traditions too - like the fertility godess that is connected to it all.
My question is do we throw the baby out with the bath water? Or do we seek to teach our children and grandchildren the TRUTH by using some of these symbols as tools to teach about Christ.
It also said that some dyed their eggs Red to symbolize the blood of Christ.
I tended to say, "let's scrap it all" because it's come so far from the true meaning that WE as beleivers want to portray and teach our chilren. But then maybe that's not the answer.
If we choose to keep some of it - then we MUST take responsibility to make it mean something that will connect with Christ and what Easter truly stands for.
Our country and our culture has truly forsaken much of what the Easter celebration is all about.
We might all be better off going back to the traditions of the Seder Passover Meal. There were fun things for the kids - eggs were part of that too - along with bitter herbs and all kinds of other foods and things - that ALL point to CHRIST - OUR MESSIAH!
I'm just hoping that some of us [including myself] will EXPLAIN the traditions of symbolisms that we participate in.
Christ used all kinds of symbols to speak and share His truth. We can too - but in a responsible way. Like I said - the Seder seems closer to the TRUTH than any Easter bunny does!
Just some thoughts so ponder. Your post has provoked much thought on the matter. I hope this helps - and not hinders that process.
Happy Ressurection Day!
Looking UPward and Choosing JOY,
Stephanie
[In Flight]
I love the title...The children asked for weeks now...if they could make/draw or do some type of craft and include the Easter Bunny...Of course my heart was broken...NO! In no way was the Easter Bunny created out of symbolism of the true meaning of Easter.
We do have an easter egg hunt at church after service...we also have fellowship and breakfast-we do a Son-Rise service...we use this time to draw in the kid's parents who ususally drop their children off for Sunday School to minister/fellowship with them.
I personally feel that the egg hunt is okay, as long as the children are taught the Truth...taught the word...
Love ya much
Happy Easter...most important...He's not only Risen...but HE'S ALIVE!
Tessa :)
Great words!! We don't do the town egg hunts with our kids and some just don't understand! Oh how true!!! Though our kids are 6, 4 and 2 they really don't even realize what they are missing out on, but it is amazing to see them begin to understand what it is all about and who did rise!!!
Blessings and thanks for the encouragement,
Jill
Thank you for standing up for our Risen Saviour!
May God bless you and give you a most blessed Easter weekend!
Marilyn
Great post! My mom got us Easter baskets when we were little, but we knew what Easter was really about. I don't really like the whole Easter bunny thing myself, just like I don't like Santa Clause, but my mom still has an egg hunt for my little nieces and she does her best to teach them about Jesus (unfortunately, I'm not sure that their parents are doing so).
Thank you for writing this post, it's a very important message!
Have a lovely and blessed Easter weekend
Yolanda, Just yesterday morning as my husband and I were sitting and reading the paper, I told him I couldn't believe, that at least 6 churches in the 'big" town about 60 miles away from here, were advertsing about the big easter egg hunt on Easter morning! How absurd! I just could not even believe it! We can not hold hands with the world and God at the same time.
Oh my - thanks for your great post.
Beth
YES! YES! and AMEN!
I saw the title of this post and shouted for joy! I can't tell you how this boils my blood like yours. I'm so tired of seeing bunnies everywhere and trying to get my grandaughters to focus on the REAL meaning.
For the first time ever my daughter wants to have Easter dinner. Then she said she wants to have an egg hunt for the girls. I want the girls to have fun but NOT at the comprimise of the Truth.
One of these days I'm going to have plastic crosses and empty tombs made to replace those eggs and turn the focus back to the RISEN LORD on this day.
If you have any suggestions for an alternative to the egg hunt now I'm all ears. :)
Have a blessed celebration!
What a post - I love the title too! He certainly did not rise from the dead - and Santa Claus is not omnipresent!
Hallelujah What a Savior!
He Is RISEN Indeed!
Much Love,
Jan
Yes and amen Sister Yolanda,
At my house as a kid the biggest highlite was the eater bunny and chocolate bunny in our basket. Our whole focus was the easter bunny. We'd go to mass but IN MY MIND... it was all about the bunny. I'm serious. Then when my kids were little we did the whole easter bunny thing and hardly went to church; (we weren't saved yet either.) IF I had it to do over.... the easter bunny wouldn't be allowed to our house on easter. BECAUSE for me as a child, ... the bunny was most important. No one ever really explained to me that Jesus died for me on the cross. Looking back it was all such a fog. How did I not hear the REAL message? Was my message clouded by a rabbit? I dunno. But I didn't. I never "got it" til I was in my 20's.
I WISH I could do so many things over... DIFFERENT. JESUS CHRIST IS KING OF KING AND LORD OF LORDS. He took MY place on the cross. lol (I do like bunnies... REAL ones, and REAL chicks n ducks and all the SPRING baby animals, but I just no longer think the easter bunny shouldn't share in Jesus day.) IT'S ALL ABOUT THE RISEN LORD!!!!!!!!!!!
You have a beautiful Resurrection sunday. I'm so thankful to call you friend.
Holykisses,
Lea
Jesus is the real reason and this my kids know. The bunny is just for fun and they know that too. I have gone away from getting new outfits and loads of junk in the baskets...and just try to keep Jesus in their baskets.
We also do the Ressurection eggs from Family Life and that's pretty awesome.
love you,
Lelia
I loved the title of your post, and I love the courage of that church for coming up with such a sign. I agree completely with everything you said. My heart is tender and easily moved these days, and I don't even want to greet people a Happy Easter... I greeted them "Have a meaningful Resurrection Sunday". Celebrating the resurrection of Jesus with a mere pagan ritual cheapens the greatest, priceless sacrifice of all.
Thank you for this post, Yolanda.
Happy Easter Yolanda!
Love you,
Valerie
Amen!
We do both...not the Easter bunny, but we do participate in the egg hunts. In addition, we host a corresponding "Good Friday" workshop for kids to learn all about the real meaning behind Easter. They finish the day's activities with an egg hunt, specific colors for specific themes. For me, Easter is about the "find." Thus, I'm OK with hunts as long as we shadow them in the truth of the Cross..the real "find" behind Easter.
peace~elaine
My friend, I so agree! This year there were no new dresses, no easter baskets (since the girls are older we usually buy them a new purse and stuff it with candy). The budget is tight and the more we grow in Christ we find it harder to make such a significant event aything less than it was. It wasn't about colord eggs, flowery hats, and ham dinners...it's about the journey to the cross. And just reliving it in everyone's post, through my own scripture reading, todays church sermon on "Hope"...I am humbled and grateful for that journey.
Oh to honor Christ...have we really done Him justice this weekend? Will we do Him justice through this next week?
In His Graces~Pamela
Yes, yes , yes! If I never see another bunny I do not care! Why are people so apologetic about the real Easter?
I love you and you know what? You have such a strong ministry to teach the word that I can hear it coming off the internet page!
You are calling us who call ourselves Christian to come to know HIM and be intimate enough to love HIM and come and dine with our Bridegroom...not stay uncommitted to the one we will someday marry!
I love you and your heart for HIM. You encourage and inspire me!
Love in HIM,
T
Wow, great post, sister!
I completely agree with you and cherish the opportunity to bring the glory to God (who is a jealous God!)
Love you!
Sonya Lee
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