By Rod Johnson

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Today, my 2-year-old daughter, Allie, dyed her first Easter eggs.

Her dexterity is far from fully developed so the ability to handle the hard-boiled eggs gingerly enough to avoid dropping them was beyond her. Multi-colored eggs were a bit much to ask of her, too, so almost all were single-colored. Nevertheless Mommy and I were thrilled with the results – red, blue, yellow, purple, and green eggs with stickers of crosses, doves, stars, bunnies, and much more.

What was most fun to watch was how eagerly Allie tackled her task. She had been anticipating coloring the eggs for several days because Mommy and Daddy had gone to great lengths to persuade her how great it was going to be to dye them and leave them for the Easter bunny to hide. We promoted the big event because we wanted her to enjoy it tremendously. And she did!

How great the influence of parents is! We hold in our hands the power to build our children up or tear them down, to educate or stifle, to encourage or undermine. As Allie’s parents we wanted to be the ones to introduce her to this spring ritual. Furthermore, our “endorsement” of the project gave her the giggly sort of anticipation you only see in tiny children and brides-to-be.

Even before she was born Allie heard her daddy speak to her through her mommy’s tummy about God’s love, His Son, and how she herself was a gift from God. And during this season she has heard about the Easter story and not just about Easter eggs, about the crucifixion and resurrection in addition to chocolate bunnies and pretty new dresses. In the same way that we created an expectation in the mind of our toddler about the Easter Bunny and hidden eggs, we want to create an even more intense and more crucial sense of anticipation and excitement about God and His Son.

Sure, deep spiritual comprehension is beyond her abilities right now, just as proficiency in dying eggs is. But just as we didn’t wait on her to be able to master coloring eggs to expose her to it, we aren’t waiting until she approaches some perceived age of accountability to tell her about her need for salvation and of the death and resurrection of the Christ.

I’m amazed that even some well-meaning Christians are terrified of the consequences of aggressively influencing their children. As parents that’s our main job! But the influence should be in both words and deeds. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, “You should never push your children to go to church. You should pull them along behind you as you go.” Yet parents seem to fear that they are brainwashing or manipulating their kids if they make demands, even within the context of spiritual education. Baloney! As Joe Perry, my Bible Study teacher and Minister of Sports Outreach at the church I attend, puts it: “Manipulation is influencing people for my benefit. Motivation is influencing people for their benefit.”

Life apart from Jesus and eternal life separated from Him is the greatest danger facing people so it’s definitely in their interest to motivate them to accept Christ, to snatch them away from the great peril of being eternally lost, beginning with our children! I spent a great deal of my formative years on ranches and farms in Texas where rattlesnakes are pretty common, so I know about them. Do you think that because Allie doesn't yet have the ability to understand the kind of danger this reptile poses, I would hesitate in taking measures to protect her if I saw a rattler nearby? Her inability to grasp the full meaning has little to do with my obligation to act as quickly as possible because I know the danger.

I believe that comprehension of the Gospel – the type that leads to conviction and salvation – is a matter entirely in the hands of God. But I believe that the introduction to spiritual awareness is a matter He entrusts to parents. More than any other thing I pray for – more than the ability to provide for my family, more than for their health and long life – I pray that my daughter will accept Christ as her Savior at the earliest possible moment that she is able to understand her sin and her need. And the fulfillment of that prayer is directly related to making sure she not only hears about the cute, harmless, non-threatening Christ-child, but also of the Lord of creation and the necessity of accepting Him. How blessed would my wife and I be to be the ones who actually introduce our daughter to Christ! But regardless of who leads Allie to Christ we eagerly anticipate that day and are doing our best to instill an expectation in her for that day as well.

Here at Easter I can’t help but think that it’s a shame that Jesus’ disciples didn’t really “get it” with regard to His death and resurrection. Instead of mourning His crucifixion and grieving at the prospect of life without Him, they could have spent from Friday until Sunday in the throes of barely containable excitement in anticipation of His coming back from the grave.

In the same way, as we celebrate this most cherished of historical events, the holiest of Christian observances, let us always work to create a hopeful expectation in our own hearts and those of others of the power and grace of Jesus Christ as they are worked out in our lives. And most especially, let’s make certain that the expectancy we instill in our children for the “worldly” aspects of Christmas and Easter are surpassed by the anticipation we give them with regard to experiencing the love of Christ and the power of His resurrection.

God bless you as you celebrate our Lord's resurrection. 

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” - Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV)