Good morning on this Good Friday. While today intends to remember the terrible loss God the Father endured in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, I also believe that God invites us to bring our own pain before him no matter what form our loss takes. And with prayer and patience, God can help us uncover the good that hides itself in the deep recesses of our suffering.
So where exactly does one find the good in Good Friday? In the Good Friday story and elsewhere in scripture, I find that the good lies in two enduring truths. First, there is the eternal truth that God suffers WITH us. Psalm 34:18 declares, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit." This verse describes a God who just doesn't want to know about our suffering, he wants to feel it.
Second, there is the lasting truth that God suffers BECAUSE of us. Isaiah 53:5 proclaims, "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." This verse reveals that God's suffering stems from his ability and willingness to bear the cost of remaining faithful to unfaithful people.
While human suffering is always valid, it never comes within a billion miles of Christ's suffering. For Christ just didn't experience the rejection and betrayal of man, but was separated from the infinite love of the Father when nailed to the cross. Who among us can imagine having to endure such cosmic suffering?
And yet it is the cosmic agony of Christ that can provide us relief in the midst of our suffering. What else could be more soothing to our pain than the knowledge that God himself has wounds of his own. One may not know the reason why God allows suffering to continue, but who can deny his love for us having plunged into the deepest depths of suffering himself.
What makes an all-powerful God decide to become so vulnerable as to sit down next to us in our grief? Why would an invincible God accept the punishment of the cross as a means to end evil without having to end us?
I'm not sure I'll ever know the answer to such questions. More importantly, I coming to accept that I don't NEED to know. If I've learned in anything about God in the five years since losing Marcus, it is this: the point where my comprehension ends is where my worship begins. Thanks be to God.
CJE