“Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin’ down the bunny trail!” We sang this with gusto as little kids, excited for the Easter Bunny to visit on Easter morning. To this day, when I hear the organ play “Up from the grave He arose…” I can taste jelly beans. Mom’s only stipulation was that we not open the chocolate eggs while we had our white gloves on.

Most holidays have godly origins and purposes, which came through loud and clear to us when we were children. Our parents made sure to detail the God-honoring side of each tradition, yet somehow we managed to dip into the secular side, too, having happy times together.

Nate and I made an effort to pass along this same delicate balance to our kids, celebrating the sacred and secular in a reasonable blend. I’ll never forget a friend’s comment about her parents making holidays heavy on meaning and lightweight on laughter. She said, “The ‘worldly’ kids had all the fun.” I think that gives religion a bad name and makes God seem grumpy to children.

Now that Louisa, Birgitta and I have traveled from Sanibel Island to our daughter Linnea’s home in northern Florida, we shared in the pleasure of watching 20 month old Skylar dig into her Easter basket and go on an egg hunt. When she found candy inside each egg, she knew just what to do. Marshmallow bunnies never tasted so good.

Two month old Micah was on hand too, although he was more interested in regular feedings than holiday eggs. I remember one Easter when our whole relation was vacationing together on Sanibel Island. We’d packed 100 plastic eggs in our luggage, each one holding a few coins. We put a dollar bill in one, a five dollar bill in another and a ten in still another. These “babyish” eggs had enough pull in them to get even the older kids involved, with enthusiasm.

Last year, when Skylar was only eight months old, we received an adorable photo of her wearing pink and white bunny ears. Nate fell in love with that picture, asking me to get a hard copy for him. When I did, he raved about his darling granddaughter and took the picture to his office. There he posted it on the door with a caption under it: “The Easter Bunny made it to Florida.”

Every family has its own traditions. Laughter and good cheer ought always to have a place in them. And today, on Easter, we felt like exploding with joy over Christ’s resurrection. What better day than this to have a party!

^“Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns’!” (1 Chronicles 16:31)

It’s always good when Good Friday is over. We know Jesus was reconnected with his Father by the end of his life on the cross, because he committed his spirit to God. But what about the many questions we have about his death and resurrection?

The time between the crucifixion and the resurrection is full of mystery and questions without answers, like where did Jesus go after he died? Did he remain in the tomb until Sunday morning when the women came to fix up his body? Did he go some place in spirit, separate from his body? When did he report back to God the Father?

It’s like digging for treasure to ponder the answers. Until this year it hadn’t occurred to me that Jesus may not have bodily remained in the garden tomb in the time between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. He may have left the tomb on Friday shortly after they laid his lifeless body on the stone slab there. We know he could pass through walls after he rose from the dead, so he could have walked through the stone walls of his tomb also.

But where would he have gone? Peter gives us a partial answer. He went to the place where dead souls were being held in some sort of bodies. It isn’t clear whether or not any people are still there today, but one thing we know from Peter is that Jesus preached to them then. He didn’t preach to the souls who believed in God and hoped for a Messiah, even though these may have seen him when he came to this place of the dead. He preached to “those who had disobeyed.”

Was this hell? Probably not. More than likely it was the place Jesus himself talked about when he described the lives of dead people who’s souls were still living, some in torment, others in comfort. Does this mean these people, the ones who had refused to believe in the one true God, had a second chance at salvation and heaven?

Maybe Jesus went there to fully experience what all dead people experienced at that time in history. He fully died, as a crucified man who had become the worst sinner of all by bearing our sins. Going to this mysterious place might have completed Jesus’ process of dying as a condemned sinner.

It’s possible his “sermon” there was more like a proclamation that the work of the cross had been completed. Salvation for sinners had been accomplished, and heaven had become a certainty for believers. One thing is sure; when Jesus arrived there, it was both terrifying and awesome for those who saw and heard him. What must he have said that day?

I crave the answers. Although I can only surmise now, one day I’m fairly sure I’ll be given the whole story with all the details. The one picture I love to ponder is the moment when Jesus returned to God the Father, presenting himself as the sinless one who’d been slain for the sins of the world and overcome death with resurrected life. Oh what joy must have passed between them at that moment! And God has been honoring Jesus every since.

All of it is a wonder to me, and I’m part of the drama, too! I’m one of those saved from eternal destruction as a result of Jesus’ death and resurrection. One day I’ll follow his lead. Nate already has. And for this unspeakable privilege, I will literally be eternally grateful.

^“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago.” (1 Peter 3:18-20a)

Back in the eighties when our family vacationed regularly on Sanibel Island, we spent many an Easter weekend in this tropical paradise. As I think back, one particular Good Friday stands out as exceptional.

My folks were with us, and Mom was a champion at finding new ways to teach old truth.  We had five children at the time, and rather than find a church and clean everyone up to attend a Good Friday service, she proposed a new idea. “Why don’t each of us head outdoors and hunt for something that represents Good Friday. It can be anything you want but has to be something you find. Later we’ll sit together and listen to the explanation of each item.”

And off we went in all directions, hunting for the elements of the crucifixion story on the beach or in the bushes of Sanibel. Our church service, held later at the dining table in our rented condo, was creative and meaningful. Everyone participated, and there were no duplicates of items found.

One person brought grasses braided into a whip, signifying the beating Jesus suffered. Another found a piece of driftwood, which he explained represented the cross Jesus was nailed onto. Dad went deeper with a stalk of sea wheat and an explanation of John 12:24, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

One of the boys brought a snake-like shell casing representing Satan the serpent who wanted to see Jesus get killed. And Mom brought a thorny branch, nearly crying as she described the crown of thorns pressed into Jesus’ head.

Although this worship service occurred more than twenty years ago, I can still picture the scene and remember the joy I felt watching and listening to our children as they remembered the death of their Savior.

Tonight I’m thinking again about that dark day two thousand years ago that unlocked eternal paradise to every human being who believes Jesus died for his or her sin . Mary asked our four girls, ages 19, 19, 21 and 22, a thought-provoking question: “What was in the cup that Jesus begged not to have to drink?”

After some discussion, we all agreed that if we looked into that cup, it would look differently to each of us, filled with the repulsive brew of our own sins. Yet the truth of the crucifixion is that Jesus drained the cup dry. Good Friday wasn’t good at all for him, but it was of the highest possible good for us.

“He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ‘Abba, Father,’ he said. ‘Everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will’.” (Mark 14:35b-36)