Limbless evangelist and inspirational speaker Nick Vujicic with his
son, Kiyoshi.
Nick Vujicic, the man known around the
world as the "limbless evangelist" as he was born without any arms
and legs, said in an Easter message that the holiday is about the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ, not bunnies and eggs.
"With Easter soon approaching, I
want to take the next week to focus on the relentless, comforting love provided
to us by Christ Jesus. Many people associate Easter with bunnies and eggs, but
I want to take the next week to focus on the sacrifice Christ made for
US," Vujicic wrote on Facebook Sunday.
"Despite our messy, sinful,
human-ness, Jesus sacrificed Himself as an act of real love, so that we may be
made whole. I can't wait to go on this journey of experiencing the love of God
together."
The evangelist cited Mark 8:31 in the
Bible, which reads:
"He then began to teach them that
the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief
priests and the teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and after three
days rise again."
In addition to various continents, the
Life Without Limbs ministry leader has also taken his message to state prisons across America,
preaching that there is always hope in life, even in the darkest of situations.
"God is using Nick's story of
hope and trust in Him to reach those who are incarcerated. Life Without Limbs
is distributing a video talk to prisons that can then be used by chaplains and
volunteers during Bible studies. Currently, we have 601 prisons participating
in 21 states," the ministry said in November.
On the subject of Easter, the National Retail Federation points out that
the holiday meant to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ has been increasingly
commodified in the past decade, with Easter spending hitting $18.4 billion in
2017, the highest it has ever been.
The majority of Easter expenses fall
under the categories of candy, including chocolate Easter eggs, food, gifts,
greeting cards, clothing, and other other material goods.
But American evangelical leaders and
pastors have insisted that Christians and people of all walks of life need to
remember the true meaning of Easter.
The Rev. Albert Mohler, president of
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville,
"All the Easter eggs and the
Easter bunny are even more extraneous to the purpose of Easter than Santa is to
Christmas."
"At least Santa Claus was based
on a saint. I wonder whether even some Christian churches are making the
connection between Christ's death and resurrection and victory over sin — the
linchpin doctrine of Christianity."
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