This month, we will observe Easter, the most sacred of holidays for all those who follow Christ, for it is the celebration of His resurrection on that first Easter Sunday.
Today’s article is based on a short story by Dr. Ralph Wilson. I hope you enjoy it.
As a butterfly soared overhead, one caterpillar said to the other, “You'll never get me up in one of those things.” Yet for every caterpillar, the time comes when the urge to eat and grow subsides and he instinctively begins to form a cocoon around himself. The cocoon is sealed, and you'd think for all the world that the caterpillar inside is dead.
But one spring morning, the life inside the cocoon begins to writhe, the top cracks open, and a beautifully-formed butterfly emerges. For hours, it will stand stretching and drying its wings, moving them slowly up and down, up and down. And then, before you know it, the butterfly glides aloft, effortlessly riding the currents of the air, alighting on flower after gorgeous flower, as if to show off its vivid colors to the bright blossoms.
Somehow, the miracle of the butterfly never loses its fascination for us. Perhaps because the butterfly is a living parable of the promise of resurrection.
On Easter Sunday morning, the disciples saw Jesus' grave clothes lying on the cold slab where they had left his body, still wrapped round and round the corpse. Only, the corpse was gone, much like an empty cocoon deserted by a butterfly who has left to soar free.
“He is risen, as He said,” an angel told the incredulous disciples. Later that day, he appeared to the disciples, and then, over the course of the next few weeks, to as many as five hundred people at one time. Even "Doubting Thomas" didn't doubt for long that Jesus was really risen from the dead.
All of us have stood beside the casket of a relative or friend, saying goodbye to that loved one. Each time we do, we should consider our own mortality. For one day, each one will be there, as loved ones and friends pass by to pay their respects. As God’s Word states, “No one can avoid facing death.”
But what do we Christians say in the face of death? There are many mysteries and many things we can’t know. But two things we know for sure. First, death is an enemy. It comes to steal away breath from those who are living. But second, and more important, Jesus' resurrection from the grave is God's proof to us that death is not the end.
The empty tomb and Jesus' Spirit within us testify that Easter morning is God's triumph over death. And ultimately, as Jesus promised, God will raise from the dead all those who believe in His Son.
So, on Easter Sunday, be sure to celebrate! Celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the tomb. And, celebrate the promise of eternal life for all those who trust Christ as their Savior!
Be sure to take your family to church on Easter, and every Sunday!
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