Good Friday
Today is Good Friday. Although I did graduate from a christian college, I haven't done all the research to know whether this day is the actual day Jesus died 1,974 years ago. My guess would be that it isn't and we can't figure that out, but maybe it is, so let's celebrate it today anyway.
Here's a thought for you - why do they only call it "Good Friday". I mean, they should call it "Jesus Died on the Cross for Our Sins So That We Could Have the Hope of Eternal Life Instead of the Fear of Eternal Damnation and It Was the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Mankind In The History of the World ... Ever" Day. I guess that wouldn't fit on a calendar as neatly as Good Friday, but at the very least, couldn't we call it Great Friday? Isn't "Great" better than "Good"? Or maybe we should go all the way up the heirarchy and call it "Awesome Friday". Maybe not. Maybe our society has turned what was a truly meaningful word ("good") into a synonym for mediocre. Like when we watch a movie and we are really excited about it we say, "Dude, that movie was awesome! I loved that movie!" Or if it wasn't as life altering as "awesome", but we still enjoyed it enough to buy it on dvd or see it in the theater a couple times we say, "Oh yeah, it was a great movie. I highly recommend it." But if it was one of those movies that you were still entertained by, but it was pretty forgettable as far as impacting your life goes we say, "It was good, but it wasn't great. It's worth watching once." From there we move to "just ok" and on into the negative opinions. There is a way to say good and make it mean great. It's for those people who don't like jumping to extremes, and they might say, "It was really good. I highly recommend it." But even then, "good" doesn't even come close to "awesome" or "incredible" or "life-altering".
Why didn't they choose one of these words to remember what Christ did for us on the cross? Maybe they did. God, when he created the world we live in, said that it was good. Do you think he was like, "eh. It's not bad. I could have done better." I doubt it. Look around at the intricacies of creation. All the many creatures and plantlife of the sea and land and sky. While all these creations are individually magnificent in their creation, they were all created to exist together. In different ways we live and breathe and exist because of the environment around us. God designed the earth will all that in mind. And then he saw that it was good. Maybe today we think "awesome" or "life-changing" speaks more highly of such an event. But Biblically speaking, "good" is as good as it gets.
So today as you remember what our Savior did on a cross a long time ago, remember what else was called good in the history of mankind - our creation. There is only one other event in history that has been life-changing since then, and that is the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Everything else pales in comparison to the love Jesus displayed on the cross. If you were to ask my thoughts on it, I'd have to say, "It was good. I love it."