THE POWER OF THE EMPTY EGG! Article of 9-2-04
Eight-year-old Stephen had Down’s Syndrome. His condition was worsening and was becoming even more noticeable to his classmates in Sunday School. The teacher was becoming more and more sensitive about how his classmates would treat him. Could they continue to love him as they noticed that he was a little different?
In April, the Sunday School teacher gave each one of the children a large plastic egg and asked all eight children in the class to hide within it one small object that represented the new life in Spring. Fearing that Stephen might not have understood, and not wanting to embarrass him, the teacher had the children place all the unlabeled containers on her desk so she could open them.
The first contained a tiny flower. "What a lovely sign of life!" the teacher exclaimed. "I brought that one!" the donor erupted. Next came a rock… That must be Stephen’s," the teacher thought, "since rocks don’t symbolize new life." But Billy shouted that his rock had moss on it, and moss represented new life. The teacher agreed! A butterfly flew from the third egg, and another child bragged that her choice was the best sign of all.
The fourth egg was empty. The teacher gasped, "It has to be Stephen’s," she thought, quietly laying it to the side and reaching quickly for a fifth. "Please don’t skip mine," Stephen interjected. "But, it’s empty," the teacher said. "That’s right," said Stephen, "just like Jesus’ tomb was empty, and that’s new life for everyone!"
Later that summer Stephen’s condition worsened and he died. At his funeral, as mourners came to pay their respects, there on top of his casket they found eight plastic eggs – all of them empty!
The Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is… that "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The resurrection of Jesus is the most awesome event in the history of the world. All of history hinges on that incredible event! Nothing else matters, not really, in light of that event. His resurrection is God’s guarantee that all who believe in him will live forever. His resurrection is also the key to experiencing newness of life now – a life where past sins have been forgiven, a life lived in view of living eternally with Christ in heaven.
Have you grasped the significance of the empty egg for your life?
Edited and revised from an article by David Sargent of the Creekwood church of Christ, Mobile, Al.