Easter Sunday  

"The empty tomb!" 

As we gather around the 'Lord's Table' this Easter morning, let's celebrate - the tomb is empty!

Luke 24.1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 
2. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 
3. but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 
4. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 
5. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 
6. He is not here; he has risen!

Holy Week has historically been a sweet, spiritually intense time of prayerful meditation leading to repentance, baptism of new converts on Easter, and the fellowship of the communion table.

In my lifetime it has become a week of last minute shopping, or sewing, preparing the family wardrobe for that great celebration of spring - Easter.

Now, I enjoy seeing all the kids all dressed up in their splendid best - coming into church actually 'spit-shined' with every hair momentarily in place...it does bring back many memories of our own girls' childhood and, indeed, my own childhood. However, it is increasingly important to me, as the years roll on, to see kids understand that the great drama of Easter is THEIR celebration of sins forgiven, eternal life assured, and hope of being one loved in, and by, the Body of Christ. 

I've now watched too many of those bright-faced children grow up and drop out of the fellowship of the church. My heart breaks as I anticipate this coming Sunday's parade of sweet children, with Easter baskets and assorted finery, knowing that several of them will not be celebrating Easter with their own children in the same way - in just a few quick, short years down the road.

What, oh, what can I do to give these kids enough love to constrain them from dropping out of the fellowship of the Body before they even become adults? I've noticed down through the 35+ years of my fulltime ministry that it isn't a matter of church activities or programs. It isn't a matter of getting kids to camps and Sunday morning activities...

It must be a matter of feeling important (or not) to the local Body of Christ. I suspect that if a child grows up in a church knowing that he/she is dearly loved and important to everyone in that church family, it makes it ever so much easier to persuade him or her to raise their own children in that same Body.

What do we do? I would suggest we begin by making certain each of us know every child in our church by name. Some reading this will say that it is impractical to even suggest such a thing as their church is too large to even begin to know the children...all the more reason for those children to be known by name! Adults choose large churches for their own ego purposes or for entertainment - little kids only care to know if someone cares enough to know... Kids know if you know their name and by that they know if you care enough to know.

Kids aren't impressed with the business of 'church' where people are a statistical commodity closely tied to financial resources. Children aren't a numbered commodity. They aren't a renewable resource. They aren't a statistic to be placed upon a Sunday School attendance board or to be an aggregate part of an adherents number.

Each little child is a one-time opportunity for love and grace, mercy and hope, life and esteem, joy and eternal life. They will grow up to act upon the values built by their perceptions in childhood! YOU are developing some child's perceptions...do you even know who that child is? God will introduce you to him/her some day. Don't wait for that embarrassment, introduce yourself to that child this Sunday!

"Suffer the little children to come unto me, for such is the kingdom of heaven..."  

Yes, Easter IS for kids! So is every Sunday.