So, I went to a Good Friday service tonight - not yesterday. Seems a little strange to put it that way, but it made me think about today in a different way than I usually do. To be honest, most years the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday passes for me with little thought. It's just another day on the calendar. But, today I stopped and thought a little more.
It's almost hard to put myself in the shoes of Jesus' followers on this day. Because I know what comes tomorrow, it's easy to just jump straight to that. But, Saturday was a day Jesus' followers had to live through. They had watched Jesus die and be placed in a tomb. As far as they knew, He was gone for good. They had no idea what was coming.
The feelings of hopelessness, sorrow, and despair must have been overwhelming. The One they had given up everything for had died. They were left alone and lost. Everything they had given their lives to for the last three years had been taken away from them - at least as far as they knew. That would have been hard to live in.
And so, I pause, and I wait. I wait until Sunday, when everything changes. And we celebrate that.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
Good Friday
Have you ever wondered why we call it Good Friday? I mean, it really doesn't seem like it would have been a good day for Jesus' followers when they watched Him get nailed to a cross and die. They wouldn't have had the thought that Jesus would rise from the dead in victory just a few days later. We have that in mind when we come to Good Friday on our calendars. We know what happened a few days later. And even still I often find myself wondering why we call it Good Friday. It just doesn't seem to be a name we would give to a day that is for us to remember Jesus' sacrifice for us.
When I look for and do some research there are all kind of things said about why this day is called Good Friday. I couldn't find an explanation that was universally given. And so I'm left to wonder why. But, maybe that is a good thing. It makes me stop and actually think about this day - about this weekend.
Jesus' death paid the ultimate price for all of the sin of all of humanity. That's something worth remembering - because it changed everything. And then three days later, He rose from the dead - He conquered death! That really changed everything!
In many ways, it is beyond human understanding that someone would do this for us. We have people we would give a lot for, but probably not a lot of people we would give our lives for. Yet, that is exactly what Jesus did for us. He gave His life for us! That's some amazing news.
Maybe that is why we call today Good Friday.
When I look for and do some research there are all kind of things said about why this day is called Good Friday. I couldn't find an explanation that was universally given. And so I'm left to wonder why. But, maybe that is a good thing. It makes me stop and actually think about this day - about this weekend.
Jesus' death paid the ultimate price for all of the sin of all of humanity. That's something worth remembering - because it changed everything. And then three days later, He rose from the dead - He conquered death! That really changed everything!
In many ways, it is beyond human understanding that someone would do this for us. We have people we would give a lot for, but probably not a lot of people we would give our lives for. Yet, that is exactly what Jesus did for us. He gave His life for us! That's some amazing news.
Maybe that is why we call today Good Friday.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
going from the classroom to the real world
I've been reflecting lately on some of the things I have written on this blog. They're things that don't necessarily sound easy to live out, but writing about them sounds good. They're the "right things" to say. They're the truth about what God has to say through His Word. But, that doesn't change the fact that moving from the classroom with these things into the real world can be a challenge.
When we finally have an understanding of what something looks like, it may seem like we're done. But, that is very often the time that God is looking for us to put what we learned into practice. God doesn't teach us things so that we have more knowledge. He teaches us things so that they become part of a transformed life. We have to act on those things we learn.
We have to take what we learned in the classroom into the real world. In some ways, it's like what happens when we finally finish our education and get a job that uses it. We take what we learned in the classroom and we start to put it to use in everyday life. It does us no good at that point to keep what we learned in our heads. We cannot do our jobs well if we do that. We have to put it into practice.
And it is the same with what we learn as we walk with God. What we learn doesn't ultimately do us any good if it just stays in our heads. We have to learn how to use what we learn in everyday life.
When we finally have an understanding of what something looks like, it may seem like we're done. But, that is very often the time that God is looking for us to put what we learned into practice. God doesn't teach us things so that we have more knowledge. He teaches us things so that they become part of a transformed life. We have to act on those things we learn.
We have to take what we learned in the classroom into the real world. In some ways, it's like what happens when we finally finish our education and get a job that uses it. We take what we learned in the classroom and we start to put it to use in everyday life. It does us no good at that point to keep what we learned in our heads. We cannot do our jobs well if we do that. We have to put it into practice.
And it is the same with what we learn as we walk with God. What we learn doesn't ultimately do us any good if it just stays in our heads. We have to learn how to use what we learn in everyday life.
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