The paperclips that flew together

Chocolate for breakfast

Let's start with a confession: my son ate chocolate for breakfast this morning. He wasn't meant to. I turned around and there it was — where did that come from?

But he wasn't the only one. Hands up if you ate chocolate for breakfast today. No judgment.

We ate chocolate because something happened. Something worth celebrating. Jesus came back to life. And that changes everything.

The God we can't see

Here's the thing about God. We can't see him. Not the way you see the person sitting next to you. And when we can't see someone, it's easy to feel like they're not there. We look around and think, "God's not actually here."

But you know what? We think God is hiding, but he's not hiding. He's calling out to us. He wants to be with us. That's why he sent Jesus — to die and come back to life. So we could be with him.

Two paperclips and a piece of paper

I had a piece of paper folded up, with two paperclips on it. One paperclip was us. The other was God. They looked separate — one on each side of the paper. But actually, they were right next to each other the whole time. We just couldn't see it.

Then I asked the parents to do something. I said: use your best parental loud voice. You know the one — your child is running across the road when they shouldn't be. That voice. I asked them to call out their child's name.

And when the kids heard their names, they pulled the ends of the paper tight.

And do you know what happened? The paperclips flew off the paper — and they joined together. Linked. Connected.

Because that's what happens when God calls out to us and we respond. We end up together.

All we have to do is say yes

God is calling out to us by name. Not in a vague, general sort of way. By name. Like a parent calling a child. Loud. Clear. Personal.

And all we need to do is respond. We say, "Yes, God." And we get to be together with him forever.

All because of what we celebrate today. Jesus dying and coming back to life. All for us to be with God forever.

That's it. That's the whole thing. It's not complicated. God wants to be with you. He sent his Son to make it possible. And when you hear him calling, you just have to say yes.

A prayer for Easter Day

Heavenly Father, we are so thankful that you want to be with us. You're calling our name. You're yelling out, "I'm here!" Because you sent Jesus so we would hear you and we could be with you always.

All we have to do is say yes, God. So this is us — coming before you saying, yes God, I'm listening. Because we know that you want to be with us and you sent your Son to do that.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, God, for all your gifts. For your amazing sacrifice. And because you love us so much, no matter what.

Thank you for this really special day. Amen.