How to Share Your Faith at Easter Time

By Jane Dratz, Christian Post Guest Columnist Sunday, March 23, 2008

Treasure hunts hold a special allure for kids. What kid in their right mind can pass up the excitement and adventure involved in searching for a hidden treasure? Which helps explain the appeal of Easter Egg Hunts even though the hidden treasure is simply jelly beans or chocolate eggs, kids love seeking and finding.

Did you know there's symbolic spiritual significance in a number of Easter traditions that have become widely accepted within secular culture? Understanding these traditions can provide you with a natural opening to talk about your faith with your friends. So stop a moment this week and think about the symbolic traditions that surface every year at Easter time and talk about their spiritual significance with others. Here are a few Easter traditions to consider:

Easter Eggs:

The Easter egg represents new life - the new spiritual life in Christ that is possible as a result of Jesus' death and resurrection. The typical pastel colors of the Easter eggs further represent this theme of new life, calling to mind the pastel colors of spring and the new growth of buds and flowers as they burst forth with life after a long winter. The Apostle Paul described new life in Christ this way:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Easter Egg Hunt:

The hunt for Easter eggs serves as a symbol of each individual's need to seek and find new life in Christ. Seeking and finding are things Jesus taught about, but the treasure Jesus challenges us to seek far surpasses chocolate eggs or jelly beans. The treasure Jesus offers for those who seek spiritual truth is a treasure beyond measure, the gift of eternal life through His death and resurrection.

And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. (Luke 11:9-10)

Easter Lily:

The pure white flower of the Easter lily represents the purity of Christ. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life as the Son of God. He offers us forgiveness of our sins through faith in Him, and in turn purifies us from our sin and 'washes us whiter than snow.

"'Come now, let us reason together,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'" (Isaiah 1:18, NIV)

Because Easter time is filled with symbols that represent some of the most significant truths of Christianity, Easter presents a multitude of opportunities for sharing with your friends about your spiritual beliefs. So step into the season this Easter Week and move the conversation in a spiritual direction. Here are some ideas to help you get started:

• Does your family have any Easter traditions? What are they? Or, why don't they?
• Do you know how those traditions came about?
• Ask your friends if they understand why so many of the traditions surrounding Easter have to do with new life. Take the opportunity to explain what Jesus had to say about new life in Him.
• Find out if your friends know why 'Good Friday' is called 'good'? Share the Good News! Jesus' put it this way when describing why he came to earth, died and rose again:

"I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." (John 10:10, The Message).

And He challenges us to spread the Good News of this new life to all the world. The symbols and traditions of Easter provide abundant opportunity to celebrate our new life and hope in Jesus and to share it with those around us!

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Jane Dratz works for Dare 2 Share Ministries in Arvada, Colo., a ministry committed to energizing and equipping teens to know, live, share and own their faith in Jesus. For more information on Dare 2 Share Ministries, please visit www.dare2share.org. Send feedback to jane@dare2share.org.