Today is Good Friday. Its called that because its the day Jesus died on the cross. Its observed by Christians all over the world. It represents Jesus' death; his obedience to fulfilling his purpose. Taking the sin of the whole entire world upon himself. Giving himself as the most Holy sacrifice to God. In turn we now have the opportunity to accept the salvation that His obedience brings. Something that has always struck me about the moment on the cross when Jesus died, was the statement that the "veil was torn". In other words what separated us from God, had been opened and now we have access to a relationship with God through the blood of Jesus. Its really an amazing thought. I am not one to push religion down any ones throat, or tell you what you should be doing, or how you should be living. Who am I to say any of that? We are all equal and human, with shortcomings, failures, quirks…in my eyes, none of us is perfect or more "holy" than the other. But I did want to share what I was thinking this morning about Good Friday.
Its a day thats celebrated and embraced and called "good". But do you think at the time it was happening, anyone would have called it "good"? The pain that he felt, the dishonor, the rejection…the confusion and fear. He was human…he knew every feeling a person would have. How about those around him, his mother, his friends and family, knowing he would be gone forever, for a crime he hadn't committed. Guilty of nothing except bringing hope and love to a dying world. Yet, we call it "good". Why do we call it "good"? Because of the outcome. Because we see, feel, experience the wonderful joy of freedom in that salvation that could only come from that pain. He had to go through ALL of it, so we would be free, free to worship, free to love God…free to live and make choices and not be bound by the laws of old, which no man would ever meet up to. We are human, remember. What I realized is that when we are going through life and situations feel unbearable, painful, hard, impossible, depressing, crazy, hopeless…when every ounce of who we are cries out "no! please! I can't go through this emotional or physical pain!" …Call it "good". The outcome after you go through it, brings about a new person, a free person, a person confident that they can handle life. Even when it brings death, it accomplishes its desired purpose, whether we know what it is or not at the moment. Life is full of so much joy, so much wonder, but also so many struggles…call them "good" and wait for the next step which will be healing and freedom….
Life is going to happen, no matter what we do! I love to learn along the way. I think many of the things we go through are designed especially for our growth, our laughter, our pain, but most of all to realign us back to the original plan we were created for...before all the baggage started to pile on. I think my journey is about the baggage I drop off along the way...join me!
