Good Friday Lament

These next three days are what life is all about. They were the pivotal moment in earth’s history. The importance of what happened cannot be overstated. The importance of what happened should not be understated.

And yet, because of the way us Christians

live

act

speak

demean

misconstrue

ignore

sleep

reject

waste

fear

rebel

judge

abandon

deny

cower

confuse

neglect

so many people will carry on today with life as normal. They will…

eat

drink

be merry

laugh

drive

work

entertain

shop

sell

build

party

learn

vacation

worry

win

lose

write

speak

carry on

as if life is all about this world, and God is just an afterthought.

Yet, God sent His Son into the world. Out of weakness, He suffered. Out of love, He died. And in power, He rose again.

I wish I had the words to convey just how incredible, true, and powerful Jesus’ death and resurrection really is. As a pastor, I feel it is my duty to somehow get it through everyone’s heads what this all means. But I keep coming up short. I can’t do it justice.

I just wish that everyone understood. I wish that instead of mocking, they would kneel. Instead of dismissing, they would confess. Instead of ignoring, they would come face-to-face with their Creator and receive His forgiveness.

I wish that all that Jesus did would have a much bigger effect on the world. I wish it would have a much bigger effect on us Christians and on those who have yet to believe.

As C.S. Lewis said, “Christianity…presents us with something knottier–a God so full of mercy that He becomes man and dies by torture to avert that final ruin from His creatures, and who yet, where that heroic remedy fails, seems unwilling or even able to arrest the ruin by an act of mere power.”

Oh, that we might all come to the truth of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. That God might be able to peel through the many layers of our hearts that prevent us from standing bare before the truth. If that were to happen, today would indeed be a good Friday.