Tomorrow will be Good Friday, a day considered sacred by millions of Americans. So much so that many businesses—Life Issues Institute included—will be closed to give staff the opportunity to more fully consider the meaning and impact this day has and will have on our own personal lives.
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onsidering what the day represents, many people have wondered out loud why Good Friday, a day that marks the brutal crucifixion of Christ, should even remotely be called “good.”
Imagine the suffering of Jesus. Our sins were physically, emotionally and spiritually placed on His shoulders through mocking, ridicule, beating, scourging and ultimately crucifixion. All of this made for an excruciating, slow and brutal death. All the while I’m sure Satan was whispering in His ear that none of this was necessary. Jesus could with a wave of His hand make all of this disappear—make things as they were before.
For our sake, I’m thankful Christ didn’t give into His tempting foe.
We call it “Good” Friday because all of Christ’s suffering is overshadowed by the tremendous resultant good. That good is a gift of eternity in heaven with Him for all who believe. I don’t mean to minimize the Lord’s suffering. One only has to watch The Passion of the Christ (which I do every Good Friday) to understand the enormity of His anguish. However, Jesus went to the cross willingly, knowing the eternal benefits to all of mankind.
In a very mortal way, an analogy can be made with an unexpected pregnancy. To a pregnant woman, her first thought is often that her life as she knows it is gone, replaced with something so overwhelming that from her early vantage point seems utterly and totally impossible to endure.
And you can bet Satan is constantly whispering in her ear that all of this suffering isn’t necessary. She can easily get an abortion which will make things as they were before. Just as Jesus saw Satan’s lies for what they were, we pray that women who are unexpectedly pregnant will too.
The emotional and physical trauma experienced during a crisis pregnancy is limited in its scope and duration. And when the temporary suffering is over, she and her baby will have a lifetime to benefit from her determination to choose life.
Pause to consider the long-term ramifications of saying no to abortion. This baby will likely grow to have children and so with these children, and on and on.
Plus, consider the spiritual and eternal consequences. Abortion is one of Satan’s most effective tools to drag souls to hell. Thankfully, we have the tools to help women and men choose life. And we have the tools to provide hope and healing to those who’ve already chosen abortion and now daily struggle with its aftermath.
May this Good Friday be truly good for your heart because you know that Jesus’ suffering opened the door for an eternity for you and all who believe. And may it remind you to pray for the many mothers and fathers who as you read this are contemplating an abortion with Satan whispering in their ears.
Pray that God would place an earthly angle in their path to show them better alternatives to the death of abortion. Be that earthly angle if God lovingly places one of these wounded souls in your path. Let the Creator use you to provide a different kind of Good Friday for them.
And don’t forget the joyous celebration of Resurrection Sunday and the eternal elation that this day brings.
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