NO OTHER THING BUT THE CROSS!

Dearly Beloved, NO OTHER THING BUT THE CROSS! “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2 NKJV). I have been seeing for many years the symbols of eggs during the Easter celebration. I never gave a deep thought to this until recently that a friend called people’s attention to it on Facebook. People’s responses to the Facebook post made me delve into the history of the relationship of symbols of eggs and the Easter celebration. Although, eggs have been associated with the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ since the early days of the church, Easter eggs are to some extent adaptations of ancient pagan practices related to spring rites. Egg has long been a symbol of fertility, rebirth and the new beginning as characterized by springtime. In classical mythology a unique bird – the phoenix – is believed to have burned its nest to be reborn later from the egg that is left. Likewise, Hindu scriptures recount that the world developed from an egg. Iranians and others around them have decorated eggs on Nowruz (the Iranian New Year) that falls on the spring equinox (that is, the time or date twice each year at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length) for thousands of years. Some ancient pagans celebrated this equinox (especially in late March) as the return of the sun God, which is a rebirth of light and an emergence from the lean winter. With the rise of Christianity in Western Europe, the church adapted many pagan customs and the egg, as a symbol of new life, came to represent the Resurrection. So, from a Christian perspective, Easter eggs are said to represent emergence of Jesus from the tomb and His resurrection. There is even an explanation for this custom that eggs were formerly a forbidden food during the Lenten season, so people would paint and decorate eggs to mark the end of the period of penance and fasting, then eat them on Easter as a celebration. Well, no matter how good or otherwise these traditions or customs may be, there is no biblical basis for them, and they are a ploy to divert the attention of people away from the cross that symbolizes the one-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and the real symbol of His resurrection – the empty tomb. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross was the single most important act in human history. Without His death, we would have no lasting hope of any kind. No wonder, Apostle Paul could emphatically say, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” and “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (1 Corinthians 2:2; Galatians 6:14 NKJV). Furthermore, His resurrection seals the hope for every Christian that as many who believe in Him will resurrect with Him on the last day (see John 11:25-26). These two symbols – the cross and the empty tomb – should be the symbols that should be used to celebrate this great event in history that we now celebrate on Easter every year, NOT any other symbol like egg that has pagan origin, and that does not clearly point people to the crucified and risen Saviour Jesus Christ. Determine not to know any other thing apart from the cross and the empty tomb of Jesus Christ when it comes to the celebration of Easter. In His service, Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor). Prayer Point: Pray that you will not let anything divert your attention away from the cross of Jesus Christ and His resurrection.