Good Friday Reflection

Good Friday invites us into a kind of honesty we often avoid.

Paul says, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:1-5)

Paul doesn’t soften the diagnosis. He doesn’t say we were struggling or searching or slightly off course. He says we were dead.

We were not weak or wandering. We were dead.

That kind of language confronts us. It strips away our ability to manage the truth or minimize our need. And that is exactly where Good Friday begins. Before there is resurrection, there must be an honest naming of death.

In Getting the Church Inside You: Balancing Faith and Action, we return again and again to this reality: we cannot fully appreciate grace until we understand the depth of our condition. Good Friday is where we stop pretending. 

And yet, the cross is not only a symbol of suffering. It is the place where God steps fully into our death.

Jesus does not stand at a distance, offering advice or improvement. He enters the graveyard of our lives. He takes on our sin, our shame, our brokenness. He meets us where we are most undone.

Good Friday reminds us that Jesus didn’t come to make bad people better. He came to bring dead people back to life.

In a quiet moment name before God:

• A sin you’ve been carrying 

• A burden you’ve been holding 

• A place where you feel broken 

Don’t rush. Don’t fix it. Just name it honestly.

 Then, in your own way, place it “at the cross.”  You might picture it in your mind, write it on paper, or simply release it in prayer.

Let this be a moment of truth… and trust.

Prayer

Lord, meet me honestly in my brokenness so I can receive Your grace.  Amen.

Reflection

Where have you been pretending you’re “fine” when God is inviting you to be honest?