Good Friday

One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at Him saying, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"  But the other rebuked him, saying, "Don't you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."  Luke 23:39-43

On Good Friday, we reflect on and ponder Jesus' death on the cross that served as the ultimate sacrifice to bring salvation.  There is nothing more important, no act of love, service, or anything else that even comes close to comparing to what our perfect Savior endured for us in His final hours and His death that freed us from our bondage to sin.

The above passage of Scripture from the gospel of Luke moves my soul as it reveals the saving power and loving forgiveness of our Savior.  The criminals that were also being crucified at the same time as Jesus had been issued a death sentence for their wrong doings.  Jesus was tried and crucified despite being perfect and innocent.  One of the criminals realized that it was indeed the Messiah, hanging on the cross beside him, and right at the moment of his acceptance, Jesus forgave him and assured him of his eternal destination.

It's hard to understand God's grace sometimes.  Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why do good things happen to bad people?  I don't know, but God loves His creation and that includes every human being on this planet.  He doesn't want only a select few, He wants all of us to join Him in 'paradise' when we leave this earth.  He sent His son to live a blameless and perfect life on this earth and then offered Him as a love sacrifice, a Lamb of God, to take our place and die for our sins. He took our place on the cross, and only wants us to give Jesus first place in our lives.