The Great Mystery

A few nights ago I chased the pink supermoon. I was able to get some really fun photographs and one of them was even highlighted on our local news! (See the second photo below.)

It’s been way too long since I broke out my big girl camera and went on a photography adventure. I brought my tripod along since I would be using my longest lens, but I never used it. I ended up balancing my camera on my open window and it worked surprising well! Sometimes things don’t go as planned, but they end up turning out even better in the end.

Today is Good Friday. I’m sure those who followed Jesus when He walked this earth didn’t view this as a good day. It was a heartbreaking day. It was the darkest day of their lives. They thought Jesus was going to lead a revolution and run the Romans out of Israel, but when He was brutally beaten and killed on a cross, they thought everything was over. They were crushed, lost, confused, and must have felt so very alone.

As we remember those emotions today, we do so with hope because we know that Good Friday is not the end. It’s just the beginning! Jesus did indeed lead a revolution, but it was a revolution of love and forgiveness, not one of revenge and violence.

Good Friday is the day Jesus died in our place. He took our sins upon Himself and paid the penalty that should have been ours. His ultimate sacrifice made it possible for us to have a personal and intimate relationship with the Creator of the universe, God, our Heavenly Father.

The great mystery is why. Why would God send His only Son to die in our place? Why would Jesus go along with this crazy plan? The answer to this great mystery is simple. Love.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” ~John 3:16-17, ESV

When Jesus died, the veil in the temple that separated the most holy place from the people was torn in two. We don’t need a priest to intercede for us anymore. We can approach God directly, speak to Him any time we want, and hear His voice speaking directly to our hearts. Today we remember the sacrifice of Jesus, the gift of life, and the mighty work of God on our behalf.

All those years ago Jesus died, but Sunday is coming and we know that Jesus lives! He rose from the dead on the third day and conquered sin and death once and for ALL! Praise the Lord!

I wonder if the moon shone bright the night that Jesus prayed in the garden before His death. I wonder if the moon looked down on Jesus as He was arrested that night. Did a giant supermoon illuminate the angry crowds as they decided Jesus’ fate? Did a full moon caress the rock that was rolled over His tomb?

Perhaps not, but perhaps the same moon that illuminated the darkness along the backroads of Wisconsin a few nights ago also shined a light of hope into the darkness of that Good Friday so many years ago.

Until Next Time,

Josie

“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” ~Ephesians 2:4-10, NLT