This morning as I was telling Emry what our day would hold, I told her we would be going to church this evening after dinner. It wouldn’t be like when we go on Sundays. There wouldn’t be Sunday School, or donuts, and we would sit downstairs instead of the balcony. But this evening would be a very special service.
“Why, Mama?” she asked.
“Because it’s Good Friday,” I replied. “The day we…”
And I paused.
I was ready to say, “The day we celebrate Christ’s death on the cross,” but a fleeting thought crossed my mind that celebratemight not be the right word. I certainly didn’t want Emry to think that we ought to celebratedeath, especially a death as gruesome as one on a cross. But, then, what was the right word? No. Celebratewas right. And so I used it, “Today we are celebrating when Jesus died on the cross. Because He loved us. And saved us. And we should celebrate.”
This thought has remained with me much of the day and was reiterated tonight when one of our pastors used the same word and repeated what I had already told Emry that morning. Yes, the death of Christ on the cross was horrific. More sickening than we could possibly imagine. But He did it willingly. Because He loved His people. He saved His people. He gave everything for His people. So, yes, we celebrate.
After all, the story doesn’t end there. On Sunday, He rose again and conquered death. And one day, He will return! If anything, celebratemight actually fall a little short of the joy this should give us each and every day.
No comments:
Post a Comment