Why is Good Friday called 'good' when it's a remembrance of Jesus' crucifixion? That's a question people ask us, and we ask ourselves also. In the article "Why is it called 'Good Friday'?"on crosswalk.com, Heather Riggleman says:
D.A. Carson wrote, "It was not nails that held Jesus to that wretched cross; it was his unqualified resolution, out of love for his Father, to do his Father's will - and it was his love for sinners like me." It is a good day because he traded places for you and for me. It is a good day because it was the day he conquered sin and death so that we will never be apart from God on this side of heaven or the other.
It's called Good Friday because, by Jesus' death, he became the final, complete sacrifice for our sins. We couldn't have erased our sins. Our hands would have been forever stained with every single sin for a lifetime. But Jesus broke the bonds of death and sin!
Because God loved us so much that He gave us his son, that those who call upon his name may be saved. Easter can be celebrated as Jesus is victorious over death. We serve a living God and now we have hope and celebrate Easter because of Christ's resurrection.
Year after year, we come for Maundy Thursday or Good Friday service and, like today, for Easter service, but what's in our hearts and in our thoughts? Are we reminded of God's love for us and Christ's redemption of us, and do we hold on to our identity in Christ as precious children of God, especially in times of depressing situations in the world today? Do we hold on to the hope we have in Christ? Many
years ago, someone shared that we need to preach the gospel back to ourselves constantly, to be reminded that God loves us so much that Jesus paid the price for us. And because God loves us, we can love others with God's love. Tess said the second most important commandment is to love our neighbours as ourselves. If we love our lives and want to be saved, then the more we must preach the gospel to our neighbours (that includes people we find hard to love!) because we want them to be saved eternally, too.
Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect — Matthew 24:44
News about war, the pandemic, unrest, and disasters we see every day are reminders that we are living in the end times. Jesus said in the book of Matthew that we are to be ready and watchful for the coming of Christ. There is a sense of urgency because we do not know when Christ will come again. So, today, is there someone with whom we want to share our hope, to tell them about God's love and what Good Friday and Easter mean? Do not wait but pray for the opportunity, courage and wisdom to share God's love. Christ paid the price for all our sins and
today, He is risen so that we can have eternal life.
When our friends ask, "Why does God allow the suffering we read about in the news to happen?", are we able to share that disease, disasters and death are all because of sin? But, God so loved us that He sent Jesus to be the eternal solution to sin. Do our family members and the little children at home see God's love through us? Is Easter just about the public holiday, a slightly different service or chocolate Easter eggs they can buy at supermarkets?
I have a young nephew and niece. We thank God for bringing them into our lives and it's our prayer that God will use our lives to reflect his love for them. It might not always be easy, but we are praying that God will give us wisdom. We watch for opportunities to share the gospel in age-appropriate ways that they can understand and pray they will come into the kingdom of God.
— Deaconess Justina Ng