goodness

"Take up your cross and follow me," Jesus said. This picture was clear to all who heard Him. They knew where anyone carrying a cross was going. They were going to die, a slow, painful death on a tree. Jesus was telling them that this was the way to follow Him, that if they really wanted to follow Him that was the way He was going. 

It seems only appropriate to write about this on Good Friday. For many years I haven't understood why it was called "Good" Friday. I mean, I understood in my mind. It is good because God ransomed us. It is good because He provided the way of salvation. It is good because He overcame death and sin and all of the brokenness of the world, and He made a way for us to do that too. 

But even as I have said these things over to myself, I didn't really understand how it could be good. How could it be good that this perfect, sinless, good man was wrongly accused, slandered, mocked, derided, unjustly convicted, beated, and crucified? How could it be good that a man who had only ever done good was thus treated? How could that be good?

What I didn't get for all these years is what God's goodness truly looks like. Because for most of my life, I have believed that God's goodness means good things will happen. And yes, He is our good Father who delights in giving us good gifts. But I missed something in limiting God's goodness to that because God's goodness is not determined by outward circumstances. God's goodness is dependent upon His character alone. Good Friday is good because God is good. That's it plain and simple. God is good. 

That means He is good in all circumstances. He is good in all situations. He is good even when I can't see it. He is good even when my life doesn't look good. He is good in spite of my circumstances. He is good even when my hands crucify Him. 

And it is His goodness that says: "Take up your cross and follow me." This outer shell of my body is wasting away, a slow death as I walk through this world. But my inner self is being renewed day by day as I walk the path of the cross, the path of His goodness. 

And so my prayer for you on this Good Friday is that you would become acquainted with the goodness of God in all its complex mystery. That you would come to know the goodness of God based upon His character. And that you would revel in the richness of His goodness that passes beyond our comprehension.