Easter Week Day 3

Eggs 5 and 6 start the part of the story that we don't like to think about. As my little ones open egg 5, a small cross falls into their lap. Immediately Avery says - "I know what that's for... Jesus died on the cross". That is correct... but I also explain to them that He carried that cross through the streets, with people mocking Him, spitting at Him, physically hurting Him.  The solider's who were in charge of His death did very unkind things (eggs 7-9), and as they hung him on the cross, His words were simply "Father forgive them, they don't know what they are doing".


I describe to our little ones that our relationship with Christ is like a bridge. We are on one side and God is on the other. The Bible is very clear about our inability to be "good" or "holy" on our own. We need a bridge - we need a Savior. And here we see Christ, forgiving them, for what they did - but also for what they are about to do. 


Egg 6. A sharp nail rattles around inside the egg. Elly carefully pulls it out and emphatically states "a nail!". We talk about how the soldiers placed nails in Jesus' hands and through his feet, nailing Him to the cross. They each touch the nail with a dramatic "ouch"... and for now this is what they need to know. In the years to come we will talk about the extreme pain and torture that Jesus endured during his death - not to scare them, but so they understand the powerful love of Christ. The love that kept Him on that Cross, and the love of a mighty God who  allowed it. But God proved his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 (also our memory verse for this week!).