I was looking through some of my past articles for Easter and thought I’d share it with you again. It’s a good reminder during the time of year when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ:

It was late in the afternoon March 23, 2001, and I was frantically wrapping up last minute duties at work. At 2:00 my vacation was staring me in the face and by 3:30 it was calling my name. It was all I could do to stifle my excitement and focus on the last pile of work.

I had scanned the calendar three or four times that day to make sure everything that had to be done during the next week was completed. Appointments were made, copies were distributed, menus were produced, etc., etc. Several times the thought had occurred to me that Easter was just a few weeks away. Easter, another holiday, I thought. Wasn’t it just Christmas?

The babe in the manger grew up fast and now is about to rise from the dead. Hallelujah! Stories of old still being told – too bad I didn’t have time for such contemplation. March was blowing out like a lion and I felt captive to its driving force.

How am I going to fit another holiday into my schedule, I thought. They come and go like clockwork but each time they seem to get in the way – like an interruption to the week. Nonetheless, the ritual is observed then quickly discarded for other, more interesting activities.

Have I become so busy, I wondered, that the day I celebrate my salvation from sin has become a bother? God forbid. Easter is the day Christians around the world look at the empty tomb and cheer! Death has been swallowed up in the victory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and its sting is gone. Our bodies die but we can still live beyond the grave. That is the hope of the cross. Again I say, Hallelujah!

So why do we keep observing such historical events? Why do we memorialize the names and accomplishments of those who have gone before us? Why bother rehearsing the stories over and over, year after year – for centuries?

A hymn popped into my mind that afternoon in March as those questions rolled around in my head. Amidst the ringing phones and flow of traffic past my desk, its tune sang quietly in the background:

King of my life I crown Thee now, Thine shall the glory be, lest I forget thy thorn-crowned brow, lead me to Calvary.

Show me the tomb where Thou wast laid, tenderly mourned and wept, angels in robes of light arrayed, guarded Thee whilst Thou slept.

Let me like Mary through the gloom, come with a gift to Thee, show to me now the empty tomb, lead me to Calvary.

May I be willing Lord to bear, daily my cross for thee, even Thy cup of grief to share, Thou hast borne all for me…

Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget Thine agony, lest I forget Thy love for me, lead me to Calvary.

A peace settled over my aching head and the rest of that day went strangely smooth. Yes, I was exhausted as I turned off the light to my office, but somehow, a heavenly perspective had replaced the hubbub.

We observe events so we don’t forget – so we don’t forget the sacrifice of those who’ve laid down their lives for our freedom, for our liberty, for our benefit. We remember…lest we forget the price.