The Goodness in Good Friday

As most people know, today we celebrate Good Friday.

 But where is the good in this day? Today was the day that our Great Savior was mocked and rejected. Today is the day that he was beaten and whipped. Today is the day that he was put on a cross and left to die. To the world today sounds like a dark day. It’s the day the darkness of humanity revealed itself and crucified the One who came to save it.

So where is the good in that?

Where is the good in the people, who merely a week beforehand were chanting “Hosanna” (Lord save now) as Christ rode into Jerusalem, turning one him and chanting “Crucify Him!” as Pontius Pilate asked what they should have him do? Where is the good in those people asking to have Barabbas, a dangerous criminal, released instead of Jesus? Where is the good in the people who took and divided his garments?

Where is the good in this day?

I’ll tell you where the good is.

The good comes in Jesus’ words “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). The good comes in Christ’s Words as He prayed to His Father, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). The good comes when Jesus uses His last breath on the cross to speak to His Father.

This is truly Good Friday.

The good comes in three days later, when Christ is raised and appears to His followers.

Jesus knew what He was doing when He came to this earth. He knew He was going to die and knew that He would be taking the sins of all mankind onto His shoulders till the point where God the Father could no longer look at His own Son. The good in Good Friday comes when Jesus died to forgive our sins.

Today might be the day that Christ died, but today is so much more than a death. Today is the precursor to resurrection Sunday; to the day that saved the world.

Good Friday was a dark day in the aspects of what happened to Christ and the suffering He endured, but He still went willing because He loved us.

So I hope as you all go through your day today that you take the time to think. It really is Good Friday. 

The Only One Who Won't Fail

Pain… anger… betrayal… Those are the moments I find myself at my lowest.

Those are also the moments God uses to remind me of Him.

It’s in the storms of my life that I have found God. The moments where I am broken and crying out to Him, asking for release, asking for help, or even blaming Him are the moments He carries me. He meets me where I am at. He knows how I feel and can take those problems.

I realize how lucky I am to have a perfect God as my friend and Father. I can turn to Him at any point. Even when I am hurt by those I considered to be my closest friends, He is always there, waiting for me to fall into His arms where I belong.

People will always fail you. No one is perfect, every person you let yourself open up to will hurt you. You will hurt others. It’s in the nature of being human. Relationships fail, friendships end, families break up. It is unfortunately the reality of this world. As soon as sin entered the world, the perfect relationships we were made to have were broken. We are still relational beings, and we still strive to have that perfection, but it doesn’t happen. Not with other humans.

The only One who can love us perfectly, who can fulfill our need for this kind of relationship is God. He is the only One who will be behind you every time you turn around. He is the only One who will never betray or hurt you.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have relationships with other people. We were made to. But we shouldn’t put our all into other people. That is only a way to get hurt. If you have a friendship or relationship where you think you’ll never get hurt, you’re wrong. You have to be aware that other people are as imperfect as you are.

We have to be forgiving as well. Knowing that others are the same as you, you know you’ll get hurt. But you have to be compassionate. Look at Stephen in Acts 7. As he was being stoned by those around him, he cries out to God. And he doesn’t ask to be saved or for God to take revenge on those killing him. He says, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” I want to be like this. I hold grudges when someone hurts me deeply. I want to see them hurt like I was. This is so wrong on my part. Christ died for me out of love, and I am supposed to show that love to others. How am I supposed to be like Him when I have this in my heart?

The only way to make a change in this aspect is to cling to Christ. To learn from Him. He is the only perfect person and I need to see my relationships with others through His eyes.

I get so tired of being hurt by others. So many time I just want to give up on others; to just isolate myself so I can’t be hurt once again and so I can’t hurt anyone else either. But I can’t do that and show Christ to the world. I just cannot do both.

There are things that are so much more important than my personal pain. Yes, I know I’ll get hurt. But I also know that I have God to turn to when I am.

No person can hurt me any more than God can heal me, and I have to trust in that. I have to know that when I am feeling alone, betrayed and abandoned that God is right there, taking care of me in ways I never even imagined.

So it doesn’t matter what people do to me. I will always have Him to fall back on. And I will always trust in that.