Good Friday

On Good Friday, Christians take time to recognize Jesus’ death. You, bereaved parents, have a unique vantage point on this event since you have a more intimate knowledge of death than most people. Your child died, God’s Son died. Your child died so you know how different a body is with and without life in it.  Your child probably didn’t die by torture the way Jesus did, but maybe he died over a period of time with increasing suffering each day. Jesus suffering increased in his body as the weight of his body caused more stress on his nailed feet and on his arms and shoulders. I think Jesus’ suffering in His spirit increased over time too. For example, He asked His Father such a sincere question: WHY have you forsaken me. Perhaps you asked the same question! Neither you nor Jesus was punished for asking because our heart-felt questions are a way of coming near to the Father and He likes that. You know death. Jesus died at the hand of torturers who intended Him harm. Yet Jesus died under the will and plan of His Father who is also our Father. Your child died under the will of the same Father, no matter what caused his death. You now live in that will. His will is that you come near to him so He can shepherd you like a lamb, so He can comfort you like a child, so He can shower you with grace so you can be in His holy presence without fear. God loves you so much He volunteered to be a bereaved father (think about that a while!). By the giving of the sacrifice (The Father), by being the sacrifice (The Son), we know His character.  

Since you have a more graphic knowledge of death, you can have a more tangible sense of the Father’s great love for you. That love extends all the way to the cross of pain. It’s the first, very costly step in the plan that will bring LIFE from the grave in a couple days – the Easter Resurrection.