“They put a purple robe on Him and twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on Him. And they began to call out, to Him ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ Again and again they struck Him on the head with a staff and spit on Him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to Him. And when they had mocked Him they took off the purple robe and put His own clothes on Him.”
Mark 15:17-20
Every Lent our family uses Resurrection Eggs by Family Life Today to bring the Easter story to life in concrete terms. The eggs contain symbols of Easter. We read a passage of scripture pertaining to that symbol ending with a lesson we should take away. Whenever we get to the egg with the crown of thorns, we explore the cruelty of the soldiers toward a man they didn’t know and who had done nothing to them. The lesson we take away: “If we love Jesus, we cannot hurt others.”
What an ideal. If we love Jesus, we cannot hurt others.
If we love Jesus, we cannot race to get to the check-out line before the lady with the bulging grocery cart. If we love Jesus, we can’t answer sarcastically a spouse who hasn’t responded as we desired. If we love Jesus, we can’t rudely ignore a family member who has hurt us deeply. If we love Jesus, we can’t yell at our children when they fail to obey. If we love Jesus, we show others the same love He showed from the cross.
As we learn this lesson–live this lesson–our children learn this lesson. What better Easter tradition could we pass along?
Tess Worrell writes and speaks to groups regarding issues of family life. She and husband, Mike Worrell, live in Madison, Indiana, where they are in their 14th year of home schooling. She would love to hear your insights. Comment here or email her at tess@YourFamilyMatterstous.com. If you are interested in bringing Tess to your home school or church group, learn more about her speaking at YourFamilyMatterstous.com.