The other week I was walking back from taking our girls to school and I saw some Hedgehog Cacti blooming. You can see the picture attached of what they looked like. When I saw them, I immediately turned to Bekkah and said, “You know, we should really have these cacti in our sanctuary for Easter not Lilies.” I was only half joking because they are absolutely gorgeous flowers and quite an interesting cactus as well. The flowers are what really caught my attention though.

The whole reason for Lilies at Easter is because they look like trumpets celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. Well, I think these cactus flowers can give the Lilies a run for their money. They too are trumpet shaped, and they are even larger than Lily flowers are. They are the perfect replacement for Easter Lilies!

Alright so maybe trying to figure out how to get Hedgehog Cacti in the sanctuary probably isn’t the safest and most practical of ideas, but if you can figure it out let me know (just kidding). What it did ultimately remind me of though, is that if we continue to open our eyes to God’s creation, we can continue to see the ways that creation itself declares with joy the world-shattering event of Jesus conquering sin and death.

Let the countryside and everything in it celebrate! Then all the trees of the forest too will shout out joyfully before the Lord because he is coming! He is coming to establish justice on the earth! He will establish justice in the world rightly. He will establish justice among all people fairly. ~ Psalm 96:12-13

Everything in creation celebrates God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in their many and various ways. Including in what may seem like unlikely places like the desert where people assume there’s not as much beauty as other places. There is great beauty in the desert, it is simply a different kind of beauty.

 

So as we go about our days during this season of Easter, look out for all the ways that our world: plants, animals, people, and the celestial bodies themselves give praise, thanks, and honor to our awesome God. And share that praise with those you meet with the joy of seeing a flower bloom or our Savior raised. Christ is Risen!

 

Blessings,

 

Pastor Brian