It was Empty!

Many remember Paul Harvey’s radio broadcasts – his News and Comment and The Rest of the Story -- from the 1950s to the 1990s. Here is an excerpt from one of his beloved broadcasts:

He was nine - in a Sunday School class of eight-year-olds. Eight-year-olds can be cruel. The third-graders did not welcome Philip to their group. Not just because he was older. He was "different." He suffered from Down's syndrome and its obvious manifestations: facial characteristics, slow responses, symptoms of retardation.

One Sunday after Easter the Sunday school teacher gathered some of those plastic eggs - the kind in which some ladies pantyhose are packaged. Plastic eggs which pull apart in the middle.  The Sunday school teacher gave one of these plastic eggs to each child.

On that beautiful spring day each child was to go outdoors and discover for himself some symbol of "new life" and place that symbolic seed or leaf or whatever inside his egg. They would then open their eggs one by one, and each youngster would explain how his find was a symbol of "new life."

So... The youngsters gathered around on the appointed day and put their eggs on a table, and the teacher began to open them.

One child found a flower. All the children "oohed" and "aahed" at the lovely symbol of new life. In another was a butterfly. "Beautiful," the girls said. And it's not easy for an eight-year-old to say "beautiful." …

The teacher opened the last one, and there was nothing inside.
"That's not fair!" someone said. "That's stupid!" said another.
Teacher felt a tug on his shirt. It was Philip. Looking up he said, "It's mine. I did do it. It's empty. I have new life because the tomb is empty."

The class fell silent.....

From that day on Philip became part of the group. They welcomed him. Whatever had made him different was never mentioned again.

Philip's family had known he would not have a long life; just too many things wrong with the tiny body. That summer, overcome with infection, Philip died.

On the day of his funeral nine eight-year-old boys and girls confronted the reality of death and marched up to the altar - not with flowers. Nine children with their Sunday school teacher placed on the casket of their friend their gift of love - AN EMPTY EGG.

Philip was right. Jesus’ tomb was found EMPTY!  That’s part of the most wonderful news – the Gospel – that this world will ever know: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Because Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again, we can have the FORGIVENESS of our sins that condemn us and NEW LIFE when we were destined for destruction (Romans 6:23).

We can receive the benefits of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection when: we place our faith and trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from our sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).

Because Jesus’ tomb was found empty, WE can have new life!

Won’t YOU accept His offer on His terms?

David Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695