Good Friday?

It is always a struggle for me to refer to this Friday as Good Friday. Why? Because that is when my Savior was crucified on the cross. Don’t get me wrong, I understand how good it was for me! God’s wrath rests on anyone who is a sinner. That would be me... and you! It is only through what Christ did for me that my sin is not just covered over, but atoned for. The price was paid, not with silver or gold, but with Jesus own precious blood. It is hard for me to feel good about it though. Imagine that you were walking on the road and a car was coming straight for you. Someone runs out and pushes you out of the way, but in the process, they die. Others might say that it was good that you didn’t suffer the consequence of the accident, but you know that it was because of your inattentiveness that this happened in the first place. Jesus rescued us too. We need to understand our sin put Jesus on the cross. My hope and assurance come at great expense to Jesus. So, how am I meant to respond? I need to grieve over my sin. I am not to treat it casually as if it didn’t matter. If my sin put Him on the cross, I should desire to avoid that which is so repressible to Him. He alone is able to wash me from within. If Jesus was willing to sacrifice so much for me, it is my privilege and my duty to praise and thank Him. If Jesus was willing to put up with all the mocking and jeering, even though He could have left at any time, I should not be concerned about what others think of me. I need to be faithful to what God has placed before me to do. Since the centurion at the cross saw the darkness and the graves of holy people open and declared, “Surely this was the Son of God”, we should not only put our complete trust in God but freely declare who Jesus is. When I look at the cross, I must also understand that this is God’s plan, and the death of His son is the only way. After all, Jesus prayed that if the crucifixion and all that is tied to that could be taken away, it would please Jesus, but He followed up on that request by saying, “Not my will, but Yours be done”. I am a sinner. Jesus died for my sins. I am a lawbreaker. Jesus fulfilled the law with all of its demands so that I might be set free. If Jesus loved me so much that He was willing to do what ever was necessary to save us, we too ought to be reaching out to the lost. Father, words cannot express our gratitude for all that You have done for us. Help us as we surrender everything to You. Amen