April 3: Insight Post by Karenna Rowenhorst
Friday Insight Post
by Karenna Rowenhorst
We call it “Good Friday.” Why do we call it Good Friday if it’s the day that Jesus died? How do you envision Jesus on this day? How do you understand what happened on Good Friday?
Good Friday is the day that Jesus was separated from the Father. It’s the day that the sin of the world was laid on Jesus. The day that He endured mockery and cruelty and a horrendous death. The feeling of the day was that evil had won. I can only guess how defeated and scared the disciples felt. None of it feels good.
Yet we call it “Good Friday.” On this day, Jesus displayed the greatest act of love, choosing to die for us. He chose God’s will, not His own, and, as they say, the rest is history.
Christ not only paid the penalty for sin, but He is also victorious over sin. Romans says he “died once to break the power of sin.” It’s not that Jesus stuffed sin in a box and sat on it, like we struggle to close the lid on an overstuffed suitcase after a long trip. No, Jesus tossed the whole suitcase away and says that we don’t have to carry it anymore. He broke its power. If we surrender to Jesus, sin cannot have a hold on us. That power is broken.
I wonder if we allow that truth to enter our thinking at a deep level. Do we realize that God gives us the freedom not to be bound by all the things that scramble for a hold on us? The things that promise easy, or fast, or satisfying results but instead are rotting our heart and mind?
If we choose to follow, we are intertwined with Christ. Our baptism signifies our willingness to die to self. And we are raised in new life to do the good works that God has planned for us. We are now part of God’s family.
Let’s spend some time today praying and asking God to show us the victorious Jesus. Envision and meditate on the choice that Jesus made for you. He had you in mind when He went willingly to the cross.
Christ is our victory. He defeated death and we have a future that is full of hope. Hallelujah!
Karenna Rowenhorst
Senior Director of Education
New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org