I have something to show you this morning.
It is kind of dry and shriveled up. Do you know what this is?
Yes, it is a bulb. It is not the kind of bulb that you put in a lamp to get light. It is the kind of bulb that you put in the ground to get Life! Out of this ugly brown thing, a beautiful flower grows.
I wanted to show you this today, because all of the Easter flowers in the church this morning come from bulbs. Bulbs are a symbol for Easter.
Can you guess why? You put bulbs into the ground where it is dark and they come out of the ground and come to life. What does that make you think of?
It makes me think of Jesus in the tomb, who rose right out of death and into Life Again!
Let me share this lovely little Easter story with you this morning.
Many years ago, Rev. Robert Barns was serving at a church in Philadelphia. The church had just bought a nearby lot on which they planned to put a big parking lot. A small patch of Easter lilies had been growing in the lot for the past few years, probably because someone from the church planted the left-over Easter lilies there.
The paving company came in and bulldozed the lilies. Next they poured asphalt, then bulldozed over that. Soon the congregation was using the new parking lot.
But the following spring, they began to notice something strange going on. The pavement in the new parking lot was starting to buckle and crack. Sure enough, the Easter lilies were poking up through the asphalt. ++
Almost every year, I see the same thing happen at the tennis courts where we play. These delicate little yellow flowers push their way through the thick asphalt and blossom, which never ceases to amaze me.
And that is what Easter is all about. Life is stronger than death. You can bury life in the ground, but sooner or later, it will spring up once again. Isn't that good news?
If an Easter lily can overcome a parking lot, imagine what you and I can do!
Thank God that Life is always happening!!
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