In nine days, many Christians in our world will celebrate what many call Easter, and many will call Resurrection Sunday.

For some, it is a time of rejoicing and hope. For others, April 21 will come as just another day. I suppose one of the most important questions that should be asked is this: “In the middle of all the celebration (fanfare, if you please) about Easter, does it really make a difference?”

To some, it may not make a difference, while to others, it makes all the difference in the world. A quick overview of 1 Corinthians 15: 14-19 tells us that if there was no resurrection, then preaching is a waste of time, believing (having faith) is useless, the testimonies of those who knew Christ are all lies, believers are still in their sins and those who believe in the resurrection are to be pitied.

Actually, the resurrection of Jesus is by far the greatest miracle in the Bible and the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Hopefully, however you feel about the resurrection, the story about Philip will be appreciated.

Philip was a third-grader with Down syndrome. He always tried to fit in with the others in his class, but they were slow to accept him because he was different.

Their creative teacher handed out L’eggs pantyhose containers. She told them to bring on Easter something that was a symbol of new life.

The students came back on Easter Sunday and placed their containers on the table. They were quite excited as each container was opened one at a time. One had a flower, another had a butterfly, while still another had a leaf. When one container was opened it had nothing inside.

“That’s stupid! Someone didn’t do the assignment,” said one student.

“That one’s mine,” Phillip said.

He heard someone say, “Philip, don’t you ever do anything right?”

Philip replied, “I did do it. It’s empty. The tomb was empty!”

It wasn’t long after that day that Philip died from an infection that any normal child would shrug off.  At the funeral, the class of 8-year-olds marched up to the altar, not with flowers, but with their teacher, each to lay on it an empty pantyhose egg.

The faith of children is amazing, but so is Easter.

The answer to the question: “does it make any difference?” …is yes!

It makes all the difference. It provides hope.

On April 21, I am going to celebrate the resurrection of Christ because it makes a difference to me. Hopefully, it also makes a difference to you.  Blessings.

Justin Shepard is the pastor of Michiana Church of Christ in Dowagiac. He can be reached at jshepard@arbor.edu