It's Good Friday. The day my Lord was crucified. Two thousand years ago, more or less Jesus was hung on a tree and killed and I am amazed. What amazes me is not the amount of pain he suffered, not the way he died, not even the humbleness with which he endured shame and pain. No, what amazes me is that he chose to suffer a cruel beating and death for me. He didn’t have to die. He had other choices. What amazes me is that when he was dying on the cross, he was looking through eternity past, present and future and did not see a people who loved him but people who hated him. He saw sinful, stubborn, rebellious people; that’s what we all are apart from God. If I’m honest with myself, I know that I’ve done things worthy of death. Knowing all that in advance, Jesus still said, “My child, I love you enough to die for you.” I know how sinful I can be, so I amazed that the creator of the universe would die for me. It amazes me that God knew our sinfulness and still wanted to die in our place. If we were good, holy and sinless, or if we loved him, it would make sense for him to perish for us. So, as I think about Good Friday, I stand in awe at the choice Jesus made for me …. But not just for me. He looked through eternity and saw value in each one of us. God’s love for me and you was so great that he loved us when we were sinning and hated him. When he was hanging on that tree, the only reason he was there is because he loved us even though we were separated from him.
