When the cross becomes Real again

Good Friday, Cross

Good Friday seemed to arrive quietly this year, but the weight of what it represents never does. I miss those Easter conferences in Africa, you could never be caught unprepared for all the celebrations that surrounded this holy weekend.

One of my most vivid memories of pastoring in Mozambique was the Good Friday showing of the Jesus film. The crew would set up the screens in the front of the church and the congregation would pile into the church to watch the show. The church would spill over with young and old. But what really surprised me and captured my imagination was the response of the older mothers when it got to the scenes on the crucifixion. They would weep, and some even wailed as they witnessed the suffering of our Savior. My own eyes shot full of tears and it made me realize; this was the appropriate response. We should wail at the anguish of our beloved Jesus.

I grew up in the church and heard the story many times, I even acted in Easter dramas, so I became desensitized to the gravity, the depth of the sacrifice.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NRSV)

Recognizing the grievous reality leads to sorrow, that he had to be crushed for our iniquities, but also gratitude. He exchanged his life for mine, even though I am unworthy and without merit. Now that my life is saved, how will I live it?

Good Friday can be just another day on the calendar, or it can become a sacred invitation—to enter the reality of the cross, to receive again the grace of His sacrifice, and to die with Him so that we may rise into new life.

I pray that this Good Friday becomes a doorway into new life—that everything that entangles you, every burden, every sin, every weight, would remain in the grave, as you step into the fullness of His salvation.

Always remember, no matter your story, in Christ you are deeply known, fully loved and you have a divine purpose.