TGF Friday

All the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross. 
Colossians 1:20, MSG  

Crowded as we were in the car on the way to the airport last spring break, the conversation turned to the upcoming Good Friday service. Grandson number three asked, “What’s Good Friday?” As we explained that it was the day Jesus died on the cross, his puzzled response was, “So, what’s good about that?” At this, the other three of us in the back seat exclaimed in unison: “It was good for us!”

TGF Friday. No, it’s not a misprint. Thank God For Friday!

The cross is certainly an unlikely topic amongst the glitter of Christmas, but think how apropos it really is. Jesus was born for Good Friday so Sunday could happen. Max Lucado sets the tone in his book, Six Hours One Friday, p.5:

“To the casual observer there was nothing unusual…to the casual observer this Friday was a normal Friday. Six hours of routine. Six hours of the expected….Enough time for a shepherd to examine his flocks, a housewife to clean and organize her house, a physician to receive a baby from a mother’s womb and cool the fever of one near death. Six hours. One Friday.” 

And yet you and I know those six hours were far from routine that day at Golgotha. The Son hung—naked, thirsty, miserable—on a cross, for six hours, separated from the Father by your sin and mine. Six hours of pure agony so you and I can spend eternity with Him in heaven. Christmas cannot be divorced from the cross.        

In our house a crown of thorns has become the topper for the tree, a Christ-nail reminiscent of the piercing spikes in both hands and feet is hidden in its branches. 

Grandson number three, Ty, caught the message of the cross this year. “The real reason we selabrate Christmas” had been percolating along in his mind ever since his sweet note you were privy to on Wonder-filled Wednesday. Understanding what was good about Good Friday fit perfectly into the puzzle. TGF Friday!

Nancy P