Good Friday
The more you think about it, the worse it gets.
No part of the Passion Gospel, the Gospel for Good Friday, has any hope.
Even the tender moments – Jesus asking John to take care of his mother, Joseph and Nicodemus making sure that Jesus has a proper burial – they’re just people dealing with the fallout from death.
You know what Joseph and Nicodemus are thinking about while they’re wrapping Jesus’ body up for burial? How much this sucks.
And whether the Romans will stop at killing Jesus. Or will they, and other followers of Jesus, be next?
The more you think about it, the worse it gets.
You know what Joseph and Nicodemus aren’t thinking about? How anything good can come from this.
Much less how God is already using all of it to do more good than either of them, or anyone on Good Friday, could ever imagine.
And yet, you and I know, that’s exactly what’s happening. Because you and I know something that Joseph and Nicodemus don’t know. Not on that worst of Friday’s.
They don’t know that Sunday is coming.
But that’s how it is, when you’re where they are. When you are right in the middle of the very worst.
When you and I are right in the middle of the very worst, there is nothing that human eyes can see to tell us that it’s ever going to get any better.
When that’s where you are, the only open question is whether it’s going to get worse.
In the middle of everything that you are dealing with right now – whether it’s death or illness, divorce or the end of a friendship, job loss or financial problems – while you’re waiting to see whether you’ve hit bottom or if it’s going to get worse. You get Joseph and Nicodemus. You are right there with them.
The more you think about what you’re dealing with, the worse it gets.
There’s nothing that our human eyes can see to tell us that anything good can come from what you’re going through.
And yet, you and I know, that’s not true.
Because you and I know something. Something that’s easy to lose sight of when you’re in the middle. Something that’s hard to hold onto when you’re scared.
But it doesn’t matter. It’s okay if we lose sight of it. Because it’s still true. Even if we’re scared.
Today is Good Friday. And Good Friday shows us that none of it, not even the very worst, can hold down our God.
Because Sunday is coming.
Today’s Readings
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What God sees
Think of the worst thing you’ve ever done.
Add in all of your mistakes. Everything you’ve ever done wrong. Everything you regret.
If you want to be miserable, dwelling on this stuff will do that for you. Every time.
Not that you shouldn’t be aware of your mistakes. After all, that’s the only way to learn from them. But there’s a big difference between letting them teach you, and dwelling on them.
Too often, we fall into the habit of dwelling on our mistakes. Replaying for ourselves everything we’ve done wrong. Everything we regret.
So much so that our mistakes become how we see ourselves.
Without really thinking about it, it becomes our identity. We see ourselves as someone who did what we regret. As someone who makes those mistakes. That’s who we are.
Only it’s not true.
If those are the things that you’re telling yourself, then you’re looking at things from the wrong perspective.
You need to look at things from God’s perspective. If you want to know who you really are.
How God sees things is what today’s readings are all about. God sees you exactly as you are. God sees you as fearfully and wonderfully made. God should know. He made you.
God knows – literally – everything about you. Everything you regret. You at your very worst.
With that complete knowledge of you, you are glorious in God’s sight.
Not because of your mistakes, your regrets.
But because of who you are in your best moments. Those moments when you do what is right, without counting the cost. When you know in your heart that this is how it’s supposed to be. That this is who you really are.
You are someone after God’s own heart.
That is who God made you to be.
That is what God sees when He looks at you.
Today’s Readings
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its the worst but hes got 6 arms, no legs, mouths on each hand, acrobatic as fuck and he got big lungs to go alongside the durability, it lets him suction cup to things.
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Just a heads up why I'm quiet for the last week(?). Mental health struggles do be crushing.
I saw multiple people tagging me in fanart and I apologize for not reblogging immediately. I want to give every artist at least some type of comment from me, a lil bit of love y'know. And unfortunately I don't really have energy to do it rn but please know that I do remember about you and see you and will openly show it when I have a little bit more energy<3
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