He’s a Good, Good Father on this Good Friday!

I’m smiling because I posted this family photo on what is supposed to be a somber, serious day. But is it really? Were it not for THIS day, we wouldn’t have an Easter. This photo was taken at our church in Shawnee, OK. It was a big deal to dress up for Easter. Had to have new Easter outfits and an Easter bonnet. I had enough hair back then that served as all the hat I needed. After church, it was all about the Easter egg hunt. The kids would have a spirited time of finding them all.

Remembering that Easter fanfare, as sweet as those times were, doesn’t hold a candle to this year’s Easter experiences. It seems the frivolous things were, well, just frivolous. Oh, I’m sure many will still be having Easter egg hunts in their backyards, but because we’re nestled into our homes, it’s easier to hone into what Easter is really all about. Introspection of the holy of holiest times that goes from Friday's sorrows to Sunday's alleluias!

Did you sleep well last night? Jesus didn’t. He had not been to sleep! All night long and in this day, He was interrogated, lied about, beatened, tortured, suffered and died on a cross that was meant for murderers and thieves. Today is Good Friday! Good? How could this day be called GOOD?

I can’t help but consider all our world is going through right now. Maybe some “Good Friday” issues like the suffering, the dying, and so many unknowns. I get it. The struggles are real – lost jobs, financial insecurity, kids testing every nerve their parents have because they’re not used to isolation, the concerns for our medical field and essential services workers. It is truly a time like we could never imagine.

I titled this post “He’s a Good, Good Father on this Good Friday”. Really? How could a Dad be called a “good dad” when He allows His Son to die in such a horrific way? “Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer …” (Isaiah 53:10). Of all the powerful verses in the Bible, this one brings me to my knees. How much does God the Father love us? Enough to sacrifice His only Son. Because the death of His Son would bring salvation to His children. That means salvation to you and to me and to all who know Him as Savior and Lord. Indeed, He is our good, good Father.

But, how could this day be called GOOD? Because out of the appallingly bad came what was inexpressibly good. And the good trumps the bad because the bad was temporary while the good is eternal. God’s love and grace came to us soaked in divine blood. The Cross is God’s answer to the question, “Why don’t you do something about evil?” “Why do You let bad things happen to good people?” God did do something. One look at His Son on the cross should silence the argument that God doesn't care about human suffering.

Without Jesus’ death, we could never know Him. We could never have eternal life. Our salvation cost a lot. And Jesus thought “they’re worth it”. And that is what’s so good about Good Friday. There is no such thing as a resurrection without a death. There is no such thing as an Easter without a Good Friday.

What is this message? For us, to never again wonder if we are loved. God thought our eternal life was worth the death of His only Son. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, would never perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16) Now, we know why God is a good, good Father and why this day is called "Good Friday".

Judge Them Oh Lord!

As my readers know, I am a sunny sky, rainbows-after-rain, kind-of-writer, but it seems irreverent to not acknowledge the dark clouds that blew in when New York lawmakers legalized abortion until birth. My heart ached when I saw the “celebration” and the gleeful faces of those lawmakers in my newsfeed.

My heart cries out “Judge them, oh Lord!” What was Jesus thinking when He said, in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies! Bless them that curse you! Do good to them that hate you! Pray for them who spitefully use you, and persecute you!” Quite frankly, I’d like to request that hail, fire, and brimstone be unleashed on those cray crays. Lord, have mercy!

Now that I’ve had my venting moment, I must repent and remember Christ’s teachings to love in spite of the evil in our world, but we shouldn’t ignore what we can do besides praying and raise our voices in proclaiming “LIFE MATTERS!”

In Psalm 69 David cries out to God about his enemies, “Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them." Whew! Don’t those words make us want to team up with David and say “Hit ‘em with your best shot, Lord?”

Can't we pray the way David did? Can't we ask for God to pour out his wrath upon evildoers? Jesus showed up and flipped all that on its heels when He said: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." That whole “loving our enemies” doesn’t make sense in this world, but, oh, lest I forget, it’s a command from another world – an entirely different kingdom than this one. It’s the “Kingdom of Heaven” world which is rooted in God’s own love for HIS enemies.

Here’s what that world looks like: Christ loved His enemies by feeding them, teaching them, and having compassion on them even when He knew they would later kill Him. The world – this world -- which is full of corrupt, evil people who continually refuse to follow Him is the very same world Christ was sent to reconcile and redeem. Christ came to earth to be a servant for the sake of His enemies so that they might know Him and come to love Him.

With his dying breath, Jesus prayed for those who put Him to death. “And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34. He showed His great compassion and love for the world even while they hated Him. God’s eyes are not closed to the evil of this world. He will judge all one day. Father, for those whose hearts are cold, may You open their eyes and plant in their hearts a love for the treasure of life and the strength to protect it. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, have mercy on us all.