It’s Good Friday! This day marks 3 days before Easter when Jesus was crucified. The name, “Good Friday”, sometimes gives a twinge of pain when I hear it. I get it, agree with it, and believe it, this day was good because of everything Jesus accomplished on the cross.
But associating the word “good” to a day of so much sacrifice and pain that Jesus endured, doesn’t seem like it should match up. But again, I know that’s just looking at the surface level. When we understand what was really happening, what was shifting in the spiritual realm, there’s no other basic term we have to describe it but good.
When I was about 5 years old, my family moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas to pastor a church. My aunt who was babysitting took me to explore the property of the apartment complex where we lived. In my 5-year-old excitement I ran into the tennis court, and immediately the gate door slammed shut, locking me in. My aunt didn’t have the key, so while she ran to get it, I was alone and stuck. At first, it felt cool. I had the whole court to myself! But as the minutes ticked by, I began to panic. I tried pulling the door open, waving down cars on the highway, and scaling up the fenced walls. Nothing worked. I thought I was deserted. In my panic and hopelessness, I believed my aunt would never return! I was stuck in the situation I had gotten myself into, and could do nothing but wait.
Eventually and obviously, she came to my rescue and I’m here to tell the tale. Ha! If I had paused and tried to understand, just believed my aunt when she told me where she was going, I would’ve had a lot more peace in the process. But fear, lack of maturity, and lack of trust tackled me.
Now, I remember that story and think- Do I trust that God has good intentions towards me? Do I believe that God is patient and merciful with me even in situations that are my fault? Do I believe that this will not end in my defeat or destruction? Do I really believe God?
Romans 8:28 (TPT) – “ We are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are His lovers who have been called to fulfill His designed purpose. “
I love how Kris Vallotton teaches on this verse, simply put:
“If it’s not good, then it’s not the end.”
I know that everything is going towards goodness. Not everything is good, we live in a fallen world that’s full of pain, sin, and junk. But I believe that God can redeem anything and everything – which turns things to have a purpose that ultimately is good.
Jesus said in John 12:24 (TPT), “Let me make this clear: A single grain of wheat will never be more than a single grain of wheat unless it drops into the ground and dies. Because then it sprouts and produces a great harvest of wheat- all because one grain died.”
What’s really interesting to me about the context of this, is that earlier in John 12 we get to know the sequel-story of Lazarus. (Read about Lazarus’ story here in John 11) What happened after? The prophetic anointing for Jesus’ burial was held at Lazarus, Mary, and Martha’s house.
Lazarus was alive and well, and people were coming to believe in Jesus just by him being alive. So many people in fact, that the Pharisees wanted to kill Lazarus too. The testimony of his life was his life.
In the context of the whole story of Lazarus,
- We can still empathize with Mary and Martha’s grief – but we see the ending so we know it’s worth it.
- We can hear the mumbling of people’s opinions about it all – but we know the truth.
- We can feel the tension of hope vs. defeat – but we know that it’s headed towards good.
Lazarus’s life, his sister’s process, all of it was all seed and sacrifice for people to see the goodness and power of God demonstrated through their lives on the earth.
So today I’m remembering what Jesus did on what we call “Good Friday”. It was the greatest event in human history. Through pain, Jesus chose the cross because He knew that there was life at the end of it. Not just for Himself, but for His children.
As He walked towards the cross, He was walking towards goodness, towards victory. It was a door that would open up redemption for every person and every situation that would believe in Jesus and call on Him.
Remember, if it’s not good, then it’s not the end! When Jesus is Lord of your life, we are continually going towards goodness.
Happy Easter!
— Julie