Friday Nurturing Content - 03/29/24

Happy Good Friday, Friend!

Do you ever wonder why we call it Good Friday if today is the day that Jesus was crucified? What could possibly be good about a solemn and, frankly, dark day that observes the suffering, crucifixion, and death of Jesus Christ?

Some language experts believe that Good Friday is called good because it refers to the word’s original Old English meaning, which is holy. Therefore, Good Friday is also sometimes called Holy Friday.

This theory makes sense when you consider what this particular day of Holy Week is called in other languages. In romance languages, such as Spanish or Italian, it is known as Sacred Friday. And, in Russian, it is called Passion Friday.

For the majority of Christians, however, Good Friday is good for the simple fact that it is succeeded by Resurrection Sunday! Without Jesus’ sacrificial death, there would be no victory and defeat of sin. Simply put, there could be no resurrection without His death and, so, Friday is indeed good.

The joy of Good Friday does not exclude pain but rather it transcends it. Good Friday gifts to us the the joy of salvation through Jesus’ willingness to take up that painful cross—the cross that, ultimately, belonged to us. And, all these years later, God doesn’t put the cross on us but asks us to pick it up willingly in order to follow Jesus.

In Matthew 27:32, we read about the man from Cyrene by the name of Simon. He was compelled by the Roman guards to pick up and carry Jesus’ cross. Surely this man had other plans that day and, yet, here he was being inserted into not only Jesus’ crucifixion but also into the pages of history itself.

Though Simon did not volunteer to carry the burdensome cross, his act of obedience paved the way and allowed him to become part of God’s salvation ministry, offering a Good Friday gift to the world. And, similarly, as we willingly take up the cross for others, we, too, are able to share the gift of Good Friday with all those around us.

“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.’” -Luke 9:23-24

And so, today, on Good Friday, my prayer for you is that you will carve out some intentional time to reflect on the meaning of Good Friday—the gift that Jesus gave us by willingly taking up the cross and how your own willingness to carry the cross for others can help to spread and share the joy of Good Friday with those who are near to us and those who are not.

Dedicated to your success,

Tam

P.S. We’re approaching a new month at the beginning of next week which means… we’ve got a new theme ready for you! Get your sneak peek here of our April theme that we’re calling “Creation Stewardship.”