Casandra Martin

“To shame our sins He blushed in blood;
He closed His eyes to show us God;
Let all the world fall down and know
That none but God such love can show.”
– Bernard of Clairvaux

When I was a kid, I wondered why they called it Good Friday. What was good about taking God’s goodness and nailing it to a cross? What was good about Jesus’ suffering, His agony, His desolation, and His pain? What was good about the snapshot of mankind at his worst, doing his best to silence God’s love? What is good about the cross?

The cross is brutal. It is brutal in its honesty about the cost of sin. It is brutal in its power to strip away the mirages of the world and reveal our soul’s deep need. It is brutal in its assault on our carefully constructed rationalizations, our prideful positionings, and the masks that allow us to hide soul-deep scars with a veneer of worldly success. In its call to transparency, the cross is good.

The cross is demanding. The cross stands as a marker of before and after, all or nothing, in or out. There is no safe way to live in the shadow of the cross. The cross demands access to every corner of your soul. God intends for the crucified Christ’s image to be imprinted on every aspect of your life. It’s deep demands are another facet of the cross’ goodness.

The cross is love. It reveals the goodness, holiness, and passion of God in a way no other moment can capture. It shows us the height of love, the depth of grace, the width of peace, and the expanse of God’s faithfulness. The cross is hope. The cross is life. The cross is joy. The cross is forgiveness. The cross is power. The cross is transformation. The cross is good.

My Jesus Resolution today is to celebrate the cross. The cross shows me both the worst that I am and the best God has in His heart for me. E. Stanley Jones said, “At the cross God wrapped his heart in flesh and blood and let it be nailed to the cross for our redemption.” Take a moment today and stand at the cross. Be quiet. Ask for grace. Sing. Smile. Accept its peace. Commit to its call. Rejoice in what it reveals about the way God can take what is bad and broken and make it good.