GOLDEN!

Years ago, when I was a youth pastor, we sponsored a Golden Egg Hunt the Saturday before Easter. We had hundreds of plastic eggs filled with candy and gum. One special "golden egg" had $25 in it. We rented a bunny outfit but it was too small for an adult so one of our smaller teen girls wore it. In the rush of preparations, I asked the "bunny" to go hide the golden egg before the children arrived. looking back, I cannot believe I did that.

After the hunt, almost all of the eggs had been found, and most of the children had left. But no one had found the golden egg. The entire youth group went out to find it, but it remained hidden. Finally, I asked the "bunny" to go ahead and tell us where it was, but she had forgotten. Duh!

Of course there are many obvious lessons to be learned....most are painful. At our next weekly youth meeting, I asked the teens to share a Biblical truth from our incident with the lost egg. One teen shared 1 Peter 1:18 saying that we are not redeemed with corruptable things like gold, but with the Precious Blood of Christ. His thought was very fitting for Easter celebrations. Another youth shared Matthew 13:44 which says, "The Kingdom of God is like a hidden treasure." Her point was that we are to seek out the things of God with more passion that looking for gold in this world.

The girl that was the "bunny" softly quoted Acts 3:6, "Silver and gold have I none!." She was feeling guilty about her mistake. We all gathered around her and showed her that we forgave her and that we all make mistakes. After all, isn't forgiveness and restoration what Easter is all about? The work of Christ on the Cross provides Salvation and forgiveness for all who ask. " For we have all sinned and come short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23)." Agreed?

By the way, we never found the golden egg, so it's still out there somewhere.