Good Friday

    Today is Good Friday; the day when Christ willingly and obediently did what He came to earth to do...to die. As I was setting up the last details for our Good Friday service tonight, the rain and wind was howling outside of our doors and it gave a very eerie feeling to the quiet of the Sanctuary. As I looked up at the rugged cross I thought, "Well, this might be a perfect accent to the service tonight. It's symbolic of the rage and howling that occurred in God's heart when He was separated from His Son...for those who didn't even get it. What an absurd injustice!" And now that I'm a parent, I cannot imagine the anguish God and His Son felt. I cannot imagine, for one moment, sacrificing my baby Lucy, for a totally unjust cause, let alone MILLIONS of them who I knew personally DID NOT deserve the gift! And quite frankly, I am one of those millions who did (and does) not deserve this gift.

It's not a new story. We've heard it for centuries now. But today offers us the opportunity to make it OUR story, not just A story. Jesus died for me. He died for you. Make it personal. He did. He thought of each one of us on the cross, and when He said, "Father please forgive them, for they know not what they do," he meant us too. Not just the people who witnessed his trial; not just the centurions who performed the execution or the locals who were present to jeer and witness his walk to Golgatha. No, he meant ALL of us who would ever draw breath.

Check this out: "A father had to watch his innocent son die in front of hundreds today. Those who witnessed it did nothing but jeer at the boy and laugh in the face of his father." If that story aired on the news in this country, an outrage would occur and thousands of people would take up this father and son's cause. It would be an injustice of gigantic proportions. In fact, many people from this country travel to other countries where these injustices are occurring and trying to do something about it.

So...it really happened. Will we remember and take up the cause of the innocent? That charge would be to, 'Love the Lord
your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love
your neighbor as yourself.' (Luke 10:27).

May the gift that was given to you save and transform you, and not end there. Take up the cause...pass it on and share Christ with others.