There are many islands in the Pacific of varying sizes. I have been privileged to visit the

Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa. I would like to visit several more. Two were discovered on

holidays. One of those is Christmas Island and the other is Easter Island. Easter Island is a small island

about two thousand miles west of Chile. It was discovered on Easter Sunday in 1722 by the Dutch. On

the island are colossal monuments up to thirty feet high, weighing up to 50 tons, which were carved

by stone tools hundreds of years ago. Many people treat Easter like an island on the calendar having

no connection with life and the rest of the year. It is as irrelevant to their lives as the statues on

Easter Island. For Christians, Easter should not be an island. Without Easter, there is no Christmas Day,

no Good Friday or Holy Week, no Lord’s Day, and no salvation. The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians

3:10 “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection.” For Paul Easter was certainly not an

island on the calendar or just a secular event. I see Easter as a vital connection to Good Friday,

Christmas, and our salvation. Without Easter and Jesus being resurrected we would be as Paul also

said most miserable and without hope. Is Easter an island to you?

Dr. Mike Young,

Interim Director of Missions