Children's Ministry

Joni Mindrebo

Goldfinches Easter is coming!  With the hope of Easter comes the hope of spring.  Winter is over, trees are budding, and the daffodils have bloomed.  What a joyful time of year!  New life is all around us, and we delight in His glorious creation and thrill at the re-telling of the Easter story and the hope that we have in Jesus.

Last year at this time, I was excited to share the truth of why we celebrate Easter with my son.  He was four years old and I thought that he was ready.  I emphatically declared that even though we would fill an Easter basket of goodies for him – there was no Easter bunny.  As I started to tell the Biblical story, I quickly realized that it was very difficult for him to understand it. As I told him that “Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose again on Easter,” — he latched onto the idea of death, and was curious about Jesus dying on a cross.  Neither of those big concepts were where I had hoped we would go in our conversation.  He ended up crying in despair over leaving Mommy and Daddy when he died, and he said that he didn’t want to live in heaven with Jesus but wanted to live in Newtown Square forever!

Why did my sincere attempt to share God’s Word with my son fail so miserably?  Easter is not just about death – Easter is about LIFE!  In Romans 8:31-39, Paul talks about Christ’s death and resurrection with such hope and victory.  I did not clearly communicate that hope and victory to my son.  There was no way he was thinking: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” or “Who can separate us from the love of Christ?” That was the great joy I had wanted him to grasp, but I had mistakenly focused on substitution for sin, rather than the hope and joy that comes from what Christ did for us.

Easter is one piece of the entire story – an integral piece, but just one piece.  Our Sunday School curriculum continually points each story in the Bible to Jesus and to the Kingdom of God.  All of the Bible is part of the whole story of God.  It is about who He is and what He has for each of us. The story does not start and stop at Easter. Our story starts when God created the world, and ends when His Kingdom is fulfilled. It starts in the presence of God, and ends in the presence of God. The Easter story takes on new beauty when we see God’s presence in each piece of the Bible.

This year, I plan to talk to my children (and yours!) in a different way. Children need to long for the presence of God. Why is God so wonderful that our entire soul longs to be with Him? We have just spent two years in Sunday school learning about the Old Testament, and the last several months have been a journey through the prophets. But now, JESUS! We will start studying the life of the Savior this week. It feels like a breath of fresh air. That is where we will start talking about Easter in the Children’s Ministry. God’s presence feels like a breath of fresh air. God keeps His promises. God brings peace, justice, joy, LIFE! And what a wonderful blessing, Jesus’s sacrifice also brings all of those things.

I am praying that the joy of Easter, the joy of life settles in our children’s hearts this year. As you also celebrate Easter, I hope that the knowledge of God’s presence also brings you joy and peace.

 

Joni

 

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