Easter Also Has A Tree

And so, while drying my hair one morning I found myself thinking about the upcoming Holiday...Easter. Maybe it's just me, but it feels like it comes earlier each year. April is a big month of celebration at our house. My husband and first born son celebrate their birthday's on the 19th and 21st of the month and we are accustomed to celebrating Easter very near their birthday's. So for Easter to be the first weekend in April seems early to me. Quite frankly, I'm not sure I'm over all of the Christmas decorating, celebrating and clean up!

Hmm...two weeks before Easter and I have not put out the few Easter deocrations I have collected over the years . With that thought, the switch was flipped and my mind began whirring like the blenders at Smoothie King on half price day. You see, I decorate for Christmas before I plan what sides will accompany my turkey at our Thanksgiving dinner. I am thorough in my Christmas decorating...red velvet ribbon wrapped around every 3rd stair spindle to mimic candy canes, ceramic houses sitting atop fake snow with a soft light burning inside of each, animated Joseph and Mary...babe in her arms, my favorite wood carved nativity. And let's not forget the tree...a nine foot tree that took me seven years to choose, twinkling with approximately 1600 lights...a mixture of white and multi-colored so that all family members are happy. The Funderburk family LOVES Christmas. We love celebrating the birth of our Savior and even took our gift cues from the wisemen by reasoning that if the most special baby ever born only received three gifts on His birthday, our children should not receive more.

Obviously without Christmas, Easter would not exist. Both occasions are central to our faith that sets forth the prinicples by which we live every day of our lives. Why then does our celebration of Easter pale in comparison to our Christmas celebration? It's true that the significance of the birth of Jesus has become a bit too familiar for those of us raised in the church and often times gets lost in the hustle and bustle of the season. But the death, burial & resurrection of Jesus is what secures my eternity! How can I not spend as much, if not more, time celebrating that occasion?

As the hair dryer buzzed, I remembered being in an Easter service circa 1994. I was a new mom, enjoying a rare moment of uninterrupted corporate worship. A large wooden cross was highlighted on the platform draped with a beautiful purple cloth. As we sang songs about the cross, my heart was gently stirred by the Holy Spirit. The tears streamed down my face as the words and music swelled around me...

"See from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?"
"I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross."
"Oh the wonderful cross bids me come and die and find that I may truly live."

Though surrounded by 300 other people, I had a very personal life changing moment with my Lord. It was one of those quiet moments, when I felt as though the Holy Spirit was standing right in front of me and my heart was about to beat out of my chest. As we stood there, the Holy Spirit and I, He took the knowledge that I had about what Jesus did on the cross, reached into a deep place in my heart and planted it there. In response, my heart melted at the revelation that if I had been the only person in this world, He would have still gone to the cross, suffered and died just so that I could spend eternity with Him. I fell in love with Jesus in that moment. I had loved, believed and trusted Him before, but the fresh revelation of His desire for me captivated my heart in a new way. I slowly opened my eyes and soaked in the feelings and sounds of that moment while I looked at the cross in a new way.

The cross is the Easter tree. It's shape is different and it's decor far less festive than a Christmas tree. But it's beauty cannot be compared, for the son of God was it's sole decoration and on Him were placed the sins of the world. Sins of pride, anger, fear, worry, discontentment, doubt, jealousy were all paid for by His death and resurrection making it possible for us to have an all access pass to the throne room of God. Unlike most Christmas presents which are enjoyed for a little while and then forgotten, the gift of His sacrifice continues to offer us forgiveness, acceptance and freedom every minute of every day.

So this weekend, the Funderburks will begin a new Easter tradition. Similar to our Thanksgiving tree on which we place fall leaves and acorns stating the things for which we are thankful, I'm picturing an Easter tree covered with hearts, on which are written words like mercy, joy, love, forgiveness, peace, freedom, acceptance, favor. In order to take one of the hearts off of the Easter tree, we will first write on the cross, itself, what we are leaving there. I want to pass on to my children the joy of the cross and all it means for walking out this life in Christ. I want to be reminded, in a tangible way, of the inequity of the exchange that happens at the cross. I long for them, and others I care for, to fully embrace the love that was expressed in His sacrifice. I never want to forget it myself.

My prayer is that all who read this would be reminded to look fully, deeply at the cross this Easter season and in doing so fall more in love with the one who conquered it!

Pictures can be seen on my Facebook page: Bethani Semon Funderburk