Part of the crowd

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, a day I looked forward to as a child. In the church I grew up in, it was a day of celebration. You could see it the moment you walked in. It was no ordinary day. There were Palm branches everywhere! It was a day of rejoicing! I enthusiastically waved my palm branch along with everyone else in the crowd as the account of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem was read aloud.

I was part of the crowd then. Later, I would accept Jesus Christ as my personal LORD and Savior and enter into an intimate relationship with Him as one of His disciples. That's it. There are two groups. One group follows Jesus along with the masses, to be fed. The other, much smaller group become His disciples and choose to follow Him to the Cross. I read a sobering scripture this week. It is from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7. Verses 13-14 say this:

"You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few find it." (NLT)

Looking back, the act of taking the Palm Branch and making it into a cross wasn't just a simple act for us children. It was a teaching moment. This Palm Sunday, take your palm and make it into a cross. Explain to your children that as the masses celebrated Jesus' arrival on a donkey into Jerusalem, the joy and celebration would soon turn to sorrow as their King would be nailed to a cross. Tell them that it's OK to feel sad. The disciples felt sad too. Then tell them there's more to the story!

If you're a visual learner, here is a You Tube Tutorial on how to make a Palm Cross:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT-0Z6YSJoU