What's so Good about "Good Friday"

For years, I lived a principled life.  I knew God.  I trusted Jesus.  I lived religiously.  The principles of conservative, republican, Christian values trumped otherwise "bad" behavior.  It worked.  But alas, I got tired.

I love to read.  I love to write.  I love to use fancy pens to write down raw thoughts.  This has been a practice of mine since early girlhood upon the receiving of my very first diary complete with lock and key.  What started as writing in a drugstore notebook the trials of an eight-year-old has progressed into the writing of a blog the trials of a 47-year-old.

Several years ago, I began to discover that not only is scripture alive and useful for just about anything that comes across my path, the Holy Spirit is a good teacher.  He's the third person in the trinity.  He's sung about in songs.  He's referenced in all the good Bible stories.  Yet the truth about who He is and what He does had been missing from my principled living.  However, very few in my circles talked of Him.  In fact, when I spoke of Him to some, I was labeled.  This got me to scratching my head and digging a little deeper.

In recent years, I've come to realize the role of the Holy Spirit.  That being filled with the Holy Spirit changes me from a principled liver to a participator of the pressence of God.  

The religious leaders and elders were principled.  They followed, taught, and practiced the law to the letter.  When Jesus came along, with a new way to do religion that didn't involve following regulated principles but rather living in the pressence, it was tricky.  So tricky they plotted against him.

So, let's get to the point, shall we?  The "good" in Good Friday is that although we all - to some degree or another - live according to principles, they don't have to rule, guide, or reign over us.  Living according to the direction of the Holy Spirit empowers us to live in the pressence of a good God.  So good, he showed us.  He showed us though His Sons' death.  His Sons' death ushered in the fullness - the resting power - of the Holy Spirit on normal earth dwellers like you and me.

Need proof?

Ok; take a look at the religious priests, leaders and elders.  They asked followers to follow laws.  They bribed guards to keep the news of a resurrected Jesus hush hush AND to spread news that the followers of Jesus actually stole the body of their controversial leader.  Hmm.  (Need further proof look in Matthew 28).

Now take a look at the followers of Jesus.  Before Jesus conquered death on the cross, they tried to live by the principles of His teaching.  One guy, Peter, was at the top of the list - one of the top 10 12 - if you will.  However, when push came to shove, and Jesus was on trial and all of society was in an uproar about killing this Jew who claimed to be God's Son, Peter bailed.  He denied he knew Jesus three times.  But, take a look at him AFTER the Holy Spirit came.  He not only aligned himself with Jesus but he publicly spoke about Him as the Savior.  Such power was there in his words that over 3,000 hearers of this news came forward to take a stand of committment alongside Peter.  This happened in one day!

May I humbly suggest the difference in principled living versus pressence experiencing is too huge to overlook?  May I also humbly suggest that this power is the Holy Spirit?  This power is the promise Jesus said would come after he left planet earth.  It wasn't a one time only kinda deal - it was a promise to all followers who want to be transformed from principled livers to pressence experiencers.    And to me ... THAT'S PRETTY GOOD NEWS!

Making it a "Good" Friday,
Christina