Good Friday ...

Good Friday is such a special time for Christians all over the world. The day Christ gave his life & took on the punishment of our sin.

The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the story of Christ's death in a beautiful way & I wanted to share it with you ... 

...They walked up a hill outside the city. Jesus carried the cross on his back, Jesus had never done anything wrong. But they were going to kill him the way criminals were killed.

They nailed him to a cross.

"Father, forgive them," Jesus gasped. "They don't understand what they're doing."

... "If you were really the Son of God, you could just climb down off that cross!" they said.

And of course they were right. Jesus could have just climbed down. Actually, he could have just said the word and made it all stop. Like when he healed that little girl. And stilled the storm. And fed 5000 people.

But Jesus stayed.

You see, they didn't understand. It wasn't the nails that kept Jesus there. It was love.

 ...Tears rolled down Jesus' face. The face of the One who would wipe away every tear from every eye.

Even though it was midday, a dreadful darkness covered the face of the world. The sun could not shine. The earth trembled and quaked. The great mountains shook. Rocks split in two. Until it seemed that the whole world would break. That creation itself would tear apart.

The full force of the storm of God's fierce anger at sin was coming down. On his own Son. Instead of his people. It was the only way God could destroy sin, and not destroy his children whose hearts were filled with sin.

Then Jesus shouted out in a loud voice, "It is finished!"

And it was. He had done it. Jesus had rescued the whole world.

"Father!" Jesus cried. "I give you my life." And with a great sigh he let himself die.

(p. 303-306)

I hope you'll take a moment to think about the sacrifice that Jesus made so we could live in the freedom of His love.  Good Friday ...