God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor. 5:21
Good Friday is strangely celebrated. Some observe it as a day of prayer and fasting. In some traditions, there are processions. Here in south Louisiana, more crawfish is consumed on Good Friday than on any other day. In some places it’s a holiday, but not everywhere.
Considering what the day commemorates, it’s strange that it’s called “Good.”
I think the problem is that almost everyone is uncomfortable with the brutal death of what nearly everyone would agree was a good man. For those who consider Him a prophet or, as we do, the Son of God, it is incomprehensible. Why would God require such a sacrifice of his Son? Why would such extreme suffering be required? Wouldn’t a simple painless death be enough? How could anyone be willing to accept such suffering and death for others?
Even the strongest Christians and the most learned theologians struggle to answer these questions. The answer is usually framed in terms of love. Face it, we don’t understand that kind of love.
So how do we handle Good Friday? As Christians, we have to learn to live with a certain amount of uncertainty. We won’t know all the hows and whys perfectly in this life. I think we have to live as the blind man cured. “I was blind but now I see.” I don’t know how or why it was done. I just know what He’s done. Life in Christ, made possible by the Good Friday weekend which ended with the Resurrection, can not be explained. It can only be lived. The story can be repeated, but it does not attract unless told by a transformed sinner. It can’t be understood unless lived.
Today celebrate all that Jesus has done for you, make it personal. Don’t try to understand it. Resist any urge to explain it. Live it out and leave it to the one who sacrificed to explain it all in the lives of others. A supernatural miracle can only be explained supernaturally.
Happy Good Friday
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