Susan Rohan
Happy Good Friday. Wait. Good? Why do we call it GOOD Friday when Jesus is led to the cross and takes his last breath today? Today is the day that Christians across the globe take time to remember the last moments of Jesus life. From the time when Jesus broke bread with the disciples and washed their feet too the moment when the Centurian said: "truly this must be the son of God."
So, why do we remember the most gruesome of days as a good day?
I posited last week in my devotional that we do not follow the cross, no, we follow a Christ crucified. Well. Today is the day that Christ is crucified for the sin of the world. This is why today is a good day. Because of the result of the day. It is not because of the beatings, or the fact that it was done, but because of the fact that Jesus made it good. God turned the gruesomeness into something amazing and beautiful.
When I was a child and I thought about Good Friday, I hated the thought of Jesus on the cross and I turned my back to it. There seemed to be nothing good in the beatings and torture of Jesus. It was a dark and somber day where the darkness and cruelty of the world won. Good Friday services left me feeling depressed and fearful.
Now, as an adult, I know better, and I have a deeper understanding of the good in Good Friday. When I see Christ on the cross, I see God who became human to understand us, live life with emotion, form a connection with us in a way that we cannot comprehend. This is good.
When Christ is crucified, there is justification and grace. Christians learn how to live a life rooted in gospel principles and tethered to a loving God who loves you enough to come to earth and take on sin.
Therefore, the good in Good Friday is about the Risen Jesus and not the death and destruction of the instrument of the cross and how Jesus was put there.
Thank you, God, for giving us the grace of your son! Amen
