Finding the lucky egg was the best part of Easter when I was a kid. It was worth a quarter when I was really young but its worth grew to a dollar as I grew older. Eggs were hidden in a four acre field we cut for hay and all the cousins ran all over it searching for eggs…especially that one lucky egg. I almost forgot: I got a chocolate bunny most years as well and that was almost as much fun as finding that lucky egg.

It wasn’t until I was in my late teens that Easter took on a different meaning for me. The change did not happen because I got older. It happened because I got saved.

I remember one Easter morning driving alone to the first church I served as Pastor listening to a Loretta Lynn 8-Track Tape of religious songs and singing along to “Gethsemane,” “The Old Rugged Cross,” and “Just a Closer Walk With Thee.” I worshiped in my car and felt the presence of our Lord in a powerful and moving way. I celebrated Easter…in my car.

We too easily forget that the true meaning of Easter has nothing to do with eggs and bunnies and new hats. It really doesn’t have anything to do with family or close friends either. It’s all about Jesus and what He did for us.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m going to spend Easter with my family and I’ll even enjoy a chocolate bunny. I’m going to preach and worship with our First Baptist Family of Faith. But none of those things make Easter what it really is. Only the resurrection of Jesus Christ makes Easter special and only through a personal encounter with the Living Lord will I (or you) experience its true meaning this Sunday. I pray you have such an encounter!

Pastor Steve Hogg