Black And Good Friday

“ As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.” – Galatians 6:14.

Ah, Black Friday. It’s a term that has been used to describe the day after Thanksgiving in a variety of contexts, but the phrase is now synonymous with the shopping rush that marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season — and all the madness that goes with it.

The low, sometimes really low prices can make people do crazy things. It is always interesting to sit with a group of friends to share the real life experiences of Black Friday shopping. I’m sure there are even better stories out there, but people aren’t willing to share them. The stories range from the hilarious to surreal to even terrifying. But there is also the ultimate love story that took place on a Friday many, many years ago. The Friday that Jesus died and became the final and complete sacrifice for our sins. We cannot erase our guilt, nor can we overcome our sins by our good deeds. But Christ did what we could never do for ourselves, by dying for us on what seemed a truly black Friday.    

As I continue to seek God more in my personal walk with Him, I am still awed and surprised by the cross.  I remember that line in the song by Michael Smith, “Here I am to Worship,” where it says, “I’ll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.” We will truly never know the magnitude of the grace and love of Jesus Christ. It’s going to take an eternity to know and grasp the fullness of Christ’s infinite love and grace towards us. Yes, we know Jesus is our redeemer, but do we truly know the magnitude of the cost? I don’t think we can even ever come up with a figure or currency to match that price, and that price was paid for each of us.

John Piper said, “Life is wasted if we do not grasp the glory of the cross, cherish it for the treasure that it is, and cleave to it as the highest price of every pleasure and the deepest comfort in every pain. What was once foolishness to us—a crucified God—must become our wisdom and our power and our only boast in this world.”

Discussion Questions:

1. What is the hardest part of the cross for you to understand? Why?
2. What can we do this week to better understand and appreciate the significance of the cross?