Easter comes and goes each year, and in many Christian homes it passes with a sugary blend of enthusiasm and spiritual sentimentality. There’s the annual egg hunt, pastel-coloured crafts, a few kids’ songs with actions, and perhaps a well-rehearsed line or two about Jesus rising from the dead.
But if that’s all Easter is in our homes—a seasonal nod to a well-worn story—then let’s be honest: we’re probably not raising Easter people. We may be passing on Easter language to our children, but their lives remain untouched by resurrection power. Faith becomes something comfortably slotted around the edges of everyday life—contained, convenient, and ultimately dismissible.
We must never let the resurrection be reduced to a comforting add-on to an otherwise decent, safe life—an eternal assurance policy to be cashed in one fateful day. It is the foundation of an entirely new earthly life. And true resurrection convictions will challenge all our deepest parental idols—success, safety, approval, ease—as our children are called into a radically different way of living from the moment they are united with Christ. We’re not parenting so that they fit in, get ahead, or have it all together. We’re preparing them to belong to Jesus—fully, freely, and whatever the cost.
Which brings us to the uncomfortable but necessary question: Are we really bothered?
Are we truly committed to raising children whose entire lives are shaped by the death and resurrection of Jesus? Are we willing to reorient our family priorities, our schedules, our ambitions, and our comforts around the central truth that Christ is risen—and that we are risen with him?
Or are we simply enjoying the language of Easter while inadvertently training our children to live as though it never happened?
Raising Easter People Is Not a Slogan
This isn’t about sloganising the resurrection. It’s about forming children whose lives are united with Christ in such a way that his death and resurrection are not just historical events, but personal realities. It means they know they have died with Christ, been raised with him, and now live in him.
Their identity isn’t built on popularity, performance, or potential. It’s not secured by exam results, sporting prowess, musical accolades, or university choices. Resurrection life is not an optional extra—it is the defining truth of who they are.
And that requires more than lip service. It demands resurrection-centred parenting. Discipleship that’s deliberate. Costly. Shaped by eternity.
Let’s Be Clear: Resurrection Life Trumps Everything Else
Too often, we find ourselves swept along by the cultural current of achievement and success. We tell our children that Jesus is Lord, but we live as though grades and goals are what really matter. We prioritise revision over Scripture, sport over Sunday worship, family time over fellowship, comfort over calling.
We panic over whether our children will get into a great university but give little thought to whether they’ll stand for Christ when the heat is on. We cheer loudly on the side-lines of the pitch but yawn our way through the service. We rearrange everything for tutoring, teams, and treats, but allow church to become optional when life gets full.
And what are we teaching them?
We’re teaching them that the resurrection is a nice idea—but not the compass of life. We’re forming children to believe that Christianity is comforting but not compelling. That Jesus is useful but not ultimate. That Easter is sentimental but not supreme.
We’re shaping them to live for now, not for eternity.
Easter Parenting Makes Easter-Centric Decisions
To raise Easter people means making decisions in our homes that only make sense if Jesus is actually alive.
It means prioritising Sunday gatherings—not as routine, but as a resurrection celebration. It means forming habits of repentance, prayer, and family worship even when we’re tired, stretched, or feel awkward about it. It means setting boundaries that reflect gospel values, not cultural norms. It means lovingly drawing lines that put Christ first, even when our children don’t yet see the point.
This isn’t about being extreme. It’s about being faithful. It’s about showing that Jesus’ death and resurrection are not confined to a spring weekend, but are the framework for every hour of every day.
To raise Easter people is to raise children who live with the cross behind them, the Spirit within them, and the crown ahead of them.
Are We Preparing Them to Live—and Die—for Jesus?
There’s a question we rarely ask out loud—but desperately need to: Are we preparing our children to die?
Because if they belong to Jesus, they already have.
That’s what union with Christ means. They’ve died with him. Their old life is gone. Their sin was crucified. And now they live a new life in him—a life shaped by grace, secured by the resurrection, and pointed toward glory.
But it also means they must be prepared for the cost.
To follow the risen Christ is to take up the cross. To be mocked, misunderstood, left out, and labelled. To say no to self and yes to Jesus. To be willing—even as young people—to suffer and, if it comes to it, to die for the Name above all names.
Are we preparing our children not just to succeed in life, but to be faithful unto death? Not just to be liked, but to be holy? Not just to have self-esteem, but to know self-denial and resurrection joy?
It’s Not Too Late
We can start today. We can make a change today.
We don’t need to be perfect—we need to be purposeful. Easter parenting isn’t flashy. It’s built on ordinary, Spirit-empowered decisions to make Christ central in our homes. To let the cross define our priorities. To let the resurrection fuel our courage.
So, parents—are we really bothered?
Because if Jesus is risen, there is nothing more urgent, more valuable, or more glorious than raising children who are risen with him.
