He is Risen, But I’m Laid Out

The year must have been 1978 or so. I had a cousin that had 11 acres outside of Houston. It was a little boys dream. Ponds, tractors, horses and wide open spaces. A place where boys could be boys and boys who wanted to be men could chew tobacco and throw up. Anyway, I remember being there early Easter morning awaiting the egg hunt. We had all peeked and seen the little colored jewels scattered among the ranch. “On your mark, get set, go.” Off we went. I vaguely remember waking up staring up at the sky seeing my aunts, uncles and cousins looking down at me asking me if I was alright. I guess in my excitement to find the most eggs, I had run at breakneck speed into a single piece of barbed wire, roughly neck high…clothes lined! I’m not sure why there was a single piece of barbed wire that stretched only a couple of feet across two trees at approximately 4 feet tall. What if we ran after our risen Savior with the same intensity as a child running to find an egg on Easter morning? Imagine hunting for a jewel more precious than rubies. Would your intensity increase? Imagine an egg hunt on a green lush hillside with brilliant silver and gold eggs scattered about. You stand there speechless with your little basket. The eggs are in plain view…there’s no need to work or hunt, just open and receive. You run to claim your gifts. One is full of grace. One is full of compassion, another mercy. Another, self-worth found in our identity with Christ. One reveals a handwritten note saying “I remember your sins no more, love God.” Tears fall. And finally, you see the most brilliant egg of all. What could be better than what I have already found? You slowly open the golden egg to reveal eternal life. A life without sadness, sickness, trials or death. It’s yours. No one can take it from you now. You didn’t earn it; you couldn’t earn it if you tried. Your Daddy gave it to you as a gift. God’s eggs don’t contain candies that are melted, make you fat or rot your teeth. So, go ahead and put all of God’s eggs in your basket and marvel at the greatness of our Father.