I'm thinking of another Easter morning approximately ten years ago. Four neighborhood churches in Columbia, South Carolina were sponsoring a sunrise service. Some 300 folks gathered in the front yard of a Baptist church, with coats buttoned snugly against the early morning chill.

Sometime in the midst of the service, I noticed Jimmy, sitting in his car as close to the crowd as possible, with the window rolled down. I thanked God for the P.A. system that enabled him to hear. His wife had driven him to the service. Because of terminal cancer, Jimmy had not been able to come to church for months. He knew this would be his last Easter on earth. So he was not about to miss this service.

Why was Jimmy so determined to be there? Because he wanted to hear the good news about eternal life one mor…