One of my favorite memories growing up is hunting for Easter eggs. Those days are behind me now, but there is something about egg hunts that still brings out the child in me.
This year I was able to help volunteer at an Easter Egg Hunt. I signed up to help hide the eggs, and I assumed it would be an easy task, until I learned one minor detail—there were 14, 000 of them! Surely the CEOs of Cadbury and whoever manufactures plastic eggs now owe our church some sort of thank-you fruit basket.
The hunt was divided into age groups, each searching for about ten minutes. In between, the volunteers would replenish the supply of eggs. However, there was a slight twist. Although several thousand eggs lay in the field, there was one for each group worth more than the rest: The Golden Egg. This egg contained a slip of paper to be cashed in for a giant basket of merchandise worth far more than the cheap treats found in the others. As one group was preparing to launch, a determined father declared, “My brother-in-law found the Golden Egg last round, this time it belongs to me and my daughter!” Sure enough, as soon as the whistle blew, this man raced to the head of the pack. Never have I seen a man run so fast! Completely ignoring the hundreds of obvious eggs, he thundered to the middle of the field, dragging his daughter behind him. I don’t know if he ever found the Golden Egg (or if those grass stains ever came out of that Easter dress), but I do know he was more determined than any other parent to come away with a worthy prize.
Everyone likes a good gift. We all hold our breath when a door prize is drawn, we all have trouble sleeping on Christmas Eve, and we all hope to get a little spoiled on our birthday. However, most gifts are soon forgotten. They are important to us at the time, but are eventually replaced by something new, which is replaced by something else. But what if there was a gift that lasted forever? What if that excitement never faded, no matter how many years passed?
Easter is a time of celebration! The resurrection of Jesus forever changed history and provided the greatest gift this world has ever hoped for: salvation. Although we are spiritually dead, Jesus has provided life. What a gift! Yet how often do we spend our time pursuing lesser things? All other gifts will be forgotten, but the gift of God is everlasting. It is like a golden egg in the midst of plastic imitations; even many thousands of plastic eggs do not amount to the one golden prize. What a tragedy to chase after temporary things, when Jesus offers us eternity.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44
Mike Blackaby is 25 years old and is the college and young adult pastor at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, GA. Mike loves to play music, loves to snowboard, play hockey, and cheers for the Colorado Avalanche. He is terrified of spiders, but loves reading fantasy novels, watching movies, taking road trips, building camp fires, and will do any roller coaster if someone goes with him. You can contact him via Facebook.