Today is Good Friday. This is the day that Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. He was put to death in a horrific way after a sham trial. Historians might look at the event and see merely the wrongful execution of a man by the current Jewish religious establishment, jealous over his popularity with the common people. A human rights activist might see it as a grievous miscarriage of justice and a barbaric abuse of a human being. But a serious Christian sees it as something else entirely.
I struggled for a long time with this whole plan that God came up with. After all, it IS rather barbaric and seemingly unnecessary for a God who had the power to speak creation into existence. And, without the ensuing joy of the Resurrection, it would indeed be a heartless, hopeless situation. I’ve learned over the years as I have grown in the knowledge of God that you can’t look at one without the other. To see the Crucifixion without the glorious Resurrection is depressing and sadistic. Conversely, to see the Resurrection without also seeing the incredible pain and suffering of Jesus is to forget how terribly high the cost of the means of our salvation. The cost was born by God Himself; the salvation is still freely given to those who will accept it in true repentance and recognition of their need for a Savior.
I say “serious Christian” above because I see a lot of Christians who never give a second thought to this day or what it represents. Sad, but true. It was the same on that dreadful day at Golgotha . Many who were devoted disciples of Christ failed to grasp, at least initially, the true significance of the event unfolding before them. And there were so many others who had never given any credence to this man who created such a stir. To them, perhaps he was just another religious hack that led a few astray from the real world of political power, wealth, and hedonism. This is still the viewpoint of multitudes. Even some in the Church relegate their professed Savior to a sort of ethereal being who only exists to ensure their entrance into heaven after they’ve lived their lives devoid of his influence. This is called an “abuse of grace”. It’s the equivalent of being given an incredibly costly gift by someone who loves you dearly, taking the gift, and then spitting in the face of the one who gave it to you and turning and walking away. I can only imagine how I would feel if I were the gift-giver. If I’d suffered unbearably in order to provide life for someone else and they took it as if I’d just handed them a pack of gum, I’d be ready to “smite” them. Good thing I’m not God.
Thankfully, God is gracious and long-suffering. Oh, he sees those who abuse his grace. Those who have not chosen the kingdom of God
For each of us, one day the opportunity to turn to God for salvation will be gone. People ask all the time why a loving God would send people to hell. It is his love that compels him to leave the choice with us. Forced love isn't love at all. Folks don’t seem to understand that each time they seek their own interests above seeking God, they are laying another brick in the wall that will someday eternally separate them from the One who made them. It is truly amazing that God, who could wipe us all out with one breath, instead chooses to continue to call us to turn to him. He’s the kind of God who, while dying a painful and horrendous physical death at our hands and for our benefit, can still say, “Forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” That’s a kind of love that we can’t fully comprehend.
What do you see when you look at the Cross? A dead trouble-maker? A victim of heinous abuse? A symbol of a former, barbaric age in history? A religious icon?
I see love…
