Good Friday, my take for those of us who may be less familiar with how this fits in a big picture

I think most are familiar with the rationale that Christ died for all, for the GOOD of all, so that all people everywhere might once again have the opportunity to live full and satisfying lives in Heaven with God for eternity. Further, perhaps less popular, is the understanding that the gift of eternal life begins in the here and now when we put our faith in Christ and not merely once we die a physical death, which is what makes the whole idea relevant for the present time. 

Only God saves

A presumption of the whole drama is that all people fall short of God’s glory, Christians included, ever since the “Adam and Eve” story, and therefore all of us are in need of being saved from this “fallen” state. This can’t be fixed by a self-help routine—prayer, going to church, temple, or trying to observe all the religious practices. The bottom line logic is that nothing and no human can save, except Christ, especially when it comes to issues like eternal life, the soul, and other things that we have little idea about except for theories, theologies, and philosophies and the established practices of communities of faith. The point is that only so-called God, who knows all, is everywhere, and all powerful, can save.

By grace through faith

Another part of the good news is that even the willfully “wicked” and the “evildoers”—murderers, cheats, rapists, liars, rude people, haters, the unforgiving—can indeed find forgiveness and reconciliation with God along with everyone else who confess their sin, repent (turn away) from their sin, and turn to Christ. All have the opportunity to receive forgiveness for their sins and the promise of eternal life by turning to Christ, putting Christ in the center of everything—finances, marriage, what to wear, work habits, attitude toward others—and trusting in Christ’s work on the Cross and in his word and promise rather than our own ability and capacity to grasp and interpret the implications of such reality in our lives. This is faith.

Hell’s for real

What may be difficult to digest is that God will call to account on the Final Judgment Day all those who merely appear to outwardly profess faith in Christ along with everyone else who for whatever reason prefer not to confess, repent, and put their faith in Christ but rather trusted in their own so-called righteousness, whatever that might be, customs, and beliefs. Hell is avoidable—no one wants to spend an eternity separated from all the good things we have experienced even if only in part while on Earth.

The exchange

On Good Friday, Christ willingly surrenders himself bearing the sins of the world, which humanity brought upon themselves through their willful disobedience, in light of the Adam and Eve story. On the Cross, Jesus Christ himself became sin so that those who put their faith in him might not merely experience a temporary spiritual high but actually become transformed inside-out. Christ exchanged his heavenly glory to come to Earth in the form of a human child. On the Cross, Christ takes upon himself the guilt and shame that comes through our sin. By this transaction–him giving up his life for our sake–those who believe in faith now in turn become representatives of God and God’s ways (godly righteousness) here on Earth as it is in Heaven. Such transformation is sustained by the power of God through God’s Holy Spirit working in and through every person who believes.

The door, now and forever

Christ’s death on the Cross becomes the doorway of sorts to continue the eternal life that we first began when we put our faith in Christ, i.e, confessing our sins, repenting, and turning to Christ trusting in his sacrifice on our behalf and by which we receive forgiveness for sins and the promise of restoration.

Death, from full-stop to comma

By Christ’s death on the Cross and his subsequent resurrection from the dead by God (Easter), death is not the full stop to a person’s life but actually a new point of departure, a comma of sorts, for new and better things in the after-life as we know it this side of death, which is hard to imagine.

The diversity of all creation

The other less talked about part of the whole drama is the diversity of all creation, people and the ecological implication of all this–Christ did not die merely to save humans but to redeem and to restore all creation, nature, plants, and animals included. Further, Christ embodies our common human diversity of cultures. Because of Good Friday, our alignment with God’s purposes to restore all creation is given fresh impetus.

The ridiculous proposition

So, can we really call this Friday, good? It depends. Whether or not we choose to believe the story is true may not really have anything to do with it. What really matters is that do we believe it is true for ourselves and are we willing to share in that larger story of being instruments for God’s love for all creation. If so, the understanding is that we then we have peace with God, ourselves, others, and all creation both now and forever.

The other side of the story, Hell is an ultimate reality for some, is true as well. But whether it will hold true for me and you, we get to decide, and this latter is a ridiculous proposition.