Good Friday has always been the saddest day of the year for me, even as a child. It has been a day when I fully realize that if it hadn't been for man's sin.... my sin.... Jesus wouldn't have had to die on the cross. He wouldn't have been beaten and tortured and humiliated and mocked. He wouldn't have had his beard torn out or a crown of thorns roughly shoved onto His head and embedded in his flesh. He wouldn't have had his clothes fought over and He wouldn't have felt the Father turn away from Him. No, if it hadn't have been for sin, He wouldn't have had to endure 'Good Friday'. It has always been a day of sadness for me.
I think that because of the many Hollywood movies that have been made we, as a culture, have become desensitized to what Jesus actually endured and why He did it. It might even be easy to accept that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world, from Adam right on up to present day, but somehow we forget, or choose not to think of the fact, that Jesus died for my sins. He paid the price for my sins. It was my sins that put Him on that cross. He was wounded for my transgressions. He was bruised for my iniquity. He bore my sorrows. He bore my shame. He did it for ME!
I spend Good Friday reflecting on what He did for me and I'm thankful. I am SO thankful. Without His sacrifice I couldn't someday reach Heaven because of my sins, being a good person is not good enough. How can we even compare our 'goodness' against God's goodness? God is holy and sin cannot enter into His presence so when I still had unforgiven sin in my life I could never have gone to Heaven. But when I confessed my sins to Him and begged for forgiveness, He gave it to me because of the blood payment that Jesus paid for my sins. He became the ultimate blood sacrifice that paid the penalty for all our sins.
He didn't have to endure the torture and death on the cross. He did it because of His great love for His creation.... us. Sin separated us from God the Father but Jesus, the Son, became the bridge to lead us back to the Father. He laid down His life for us so that we could have eternal life with God. But this sacrifice is a gift that we have to choose to accept.
If I gave you a million dollars in a box and told you that you could open the box and have the money inside, would you leave it closed? Or would you open it? Of course you'd open it and use it. Jesus gave us the gift of salvation, freedom from the penalty of our sins, but it is a gift. Will you accept it? Will you accept Jesus into your life? Will you ask Him to forgive you of your sins and follow Him? Without accepting the gift that Jesus gave us we can't see God. We can't have eternal life in Heaven.
There are alot of people in the world who think that if they are a good person, they'll go to Heaven. Or if they do good works they can earn a place in Heaven. That's not what the Bible says. We can't compare ourselves to other people, we need to compare ourselves to God and if we do we will find that we don't measure up on our own. Compared to God's righteousness, or goodness, our goodness is like filthy rags. So we need to have Jesus in our life. He paid the price that was owing for our sins. He was our sacrifice. He laid down His life so that we could have life eternal with God. Because He laid down His life for me I willing choose to live my life for Him. Will you do the same?
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 8-9
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Romans 10:9-10
Post a Comment