A little boy and his father were driving down a country road on a beautiful spring afternoon. Suddenly out of nowhere a bumblebee flew in the car window.
Since the little boy was deathly allergic to bee stings, he became petrified. But the father quickly reached out, grabbed the bee, squeezed it in his hand, and then released it.
But as soon as he let it go, the young son became frantic once again as it buzzed by the little boy. His father saw his panic-stricken face. Once again, the father reached out his hand, but this time he pointed to his hand.
There still stuck in his skin was the stinger of the bee. “Do you see this?” he said. “You don’t need to be afraid anymore. I’ve taken the sting out for you.”
This is the message of Easter. We do not need to be afraid of death anymore. Christ faced death for us. And by His victory, we are saved from sin. Christ has taken out the sting!
“Where, oh death, is your sting?” says Saint Paul (1 Corinthians 15:22).
Christ has taken away the sting of death for us.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how convinced are YOU that Christ has really taken away the sting of death for you?
AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE ONLY THING THAT REALLY MATTERS IS WHAT GOD THINKS OF ME!
My Commentary:
This simple story carries a profound truth that goes to the very heart of Easter.
The child’s fear is real, immediate, and overwhelming — just as our fear of suffering, loss, and death can be. The bee is still present, still buzzing, still visible. And yet, something essential has changed. The danger has been removed. The father has already taken the sting away.
So it is with us. Death still hovers in our world. We still see it, feel its shadow, and sometimes tremble before it. But Easter tells us that its ultimate power is gone. Christ did not remove death’s presence — He removed its victory. He entered into it, absorbed its sting, and rose beyond it.
Like the child, we often forget. We panic at the buzzing, not realizing that the worst has already been borne by another. The cross is the Father’s wounded hand, quietly shown to us: “Look — do you see? You need not be afraid anymore.”
Saint Paul’s cry becomes not just theology, but lived assurance: “Where, O death, is your sting?” The answer is this — there is none left for us. Christ has taken it.
Easter is not merely a celebration of something that happened to Jesus. It is the calm that can settle into our hearts even while life still buzzes with uncertainty. It is courage in the face of fear. It is hope that does not deny reality, but transforms it.
The bee may still fly.
But the sting is gone.
