Jeremy was not a normal
child. He had a terminal
illness which affected both his body and his mind.
Still, his parents had tried to give him as normal a
life as possible and had sent him to a religious
elementary school. At the age of twelve, Jeremy was only in second
grade, seemingly unable to learn. He was a frustration to his
teacher and to all the children in the class.
Springtime came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of
Easter. Their teacher told them the story of Jesus, and then to
emphasize
the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a
large plastic egg with this assignment:
"I want you to take
this home and bring it back
tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you
understand?"
All the
children responded enthusiastically, "Yes,
Miss Miller!" All of them, that is, except for Jeremy. He
just listened carefully, his eyes never leaving the teacher’s
face. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and
resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? The teacher
thought perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to
them, but she got busy and forgot.
The next morning, nineteen children came to school,
laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in a
large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed
their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg,
Miss Miller found a flower. She said, "Oh yes, a flower
is certainly a sign of new life. When plants peek through the
ground, we know that spring is here." A small girl in the
first row waved her arms. "That's my egg, Miss Miller," she
called out.
The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which
looked real. The teacher held it up. She said, "We all know
that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly.
Yes, that is new life, too." Little Judy smiled proudly and said,
"Miss Miller, that one is mine!"
Next, the teacher found a rock with moss on it.
She explained that moss, too, showed life. Billy
spoke up from the back of the classroom. "My daddy helped
me!"
Then the teacher opened the fourth egg. But the
egg was empty! Surely it must be Jeremy's, she
thought, and, obviously, he didn't understand her
instructions. If only she hadn't forgotten to phone his
parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly
set the egg aside and reached for another. Suddenly Jeremy spoke
up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my
egg?" A bit flustered, the teacher said, "But Jeremy --
your egg is empty!" He looked into her eyes and said softly,
"Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too!"
Truly, the greatest symbol of new life is found in
an empty tomb!
"But
the angel answered and said to the
women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that
you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is
not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come,
see the place where the Lord lay. And go
quickly and tell His disciples that He is
risen from the dead." (Matt.
28:5-7a)
"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus
from the dead dwells in you, he who raised
Christ from the dead will also give life to
your mortal bodies through His Spirit
who dwells in you." (Rom. 8:11)
May you come to
know the true life which is found in Him who was responsible for that
empty
tomb.
Have
a great week!
In Jesus'
name, Amen.
 
This weeks
thought and comments comes from Thought-for-the-day, a daily devotional
which you can receive daily on line by subscribing at:
or send an
E-mail to:
thought-for-the-day@eGroups.com
It is
created by Alan Smith,
Boone Church of Christ,
Boone, NC
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