Thoughts on Good Friday

It's Good Friday, friends. Good Friday is one of those days that often comes and goes for many without a thought. I have some thoughts, as you might imagine. Some are earthly and of minor importance in the grand scheme of things, but thoughts no less. It was warm and sunny Good Friday 14 years ago when my husband and I went on our first date as young teenagers with very few cares in the world. On Good Friday 15 years ago, my mother, grandmother, and I were on a return flight back home from spring break as we watched a cancer patient, the woman sitting opposite our rear-facing seats, pass away before our very eyes as she was traveling to see her family for the last time knowing death was imminent. On many Good Fridays, which always seemed to be cold and rainy, I walked the stations of the cross with my mother through the grassy back lot at the Catholic church. Though these times are marked by Good Friday on the calendar, nothing could ever compare to the suffering of Christ shown to the world on this day in history and that's what I reflect on most. Christ was beaten, bloody, and wore a crown of thorns on our behalf. He suffered, died, and was buried so whoever believed in Him could have eternal life - knowing all was not for the sake of suffering, but for the glory of God.

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.(NIV)

I am thankful for our dear Savior on this day and every day. I look forward to the day our children are old enough to understand that Good Friday means so much more than "two more days until Easter" or a day off school. I pray that they soon learn the emphasis is not on chocolate rabbits, beautifully adorned baskets, colored eggs, and pretty dresses that distract from the true meaning of this day. It's all for the bloody death and amazing resurrection of our Savior, for which our hearts can be forever changed. It's for the pure adoration of Christ our Lord and how we'd all be souls walking in darkness and lost to this world without this day.

Philippians 3:10-12 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. (NIV)

I pray that you, too, can reflect on the powerful grace - gift - given to us by Christ our Lord. This is a gift more sacred, more sentimental than any Easter memory we could create here on Earth. I pray that He will change your heart, refine your life, and use you for His good. I pray that you know there is no other way to eternal life than through Him. John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Check out this emotionally-charged video for some related worship music, appropriate for this day,  

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty who was and is and is to come!