Truthfully, a very GOOD Friday

Was it just seemingly a 'good' Friday or really still a Good Friday from all perspectives, as it was declared 2000 years ago?

In the midst of COVID19, still an anthem of gratitude echoed through the globe for the Cross and the perfect sacrifice that Christ made for all mankind. Through the process of dealing with the pandemic, many of our non-essentials have been removed or disconnected from our lives, thankfully for some, reluctantly for others and uncomfortably for many. Are non-essentials really important for our lives? It seems like an oxymoron statement but many have left the true essentials swept under the carpets of their lives for the longest time that a habitual lifestyle of simply engaging and relying on the non-essentials for survival deem to have become the best way to live, yet not the wisest one in terms of decisions made. This has been proven true in times of a crisis like COVID19.

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"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." ~ James 1:17

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The pain, suffering and rejection on Calvary was necessary so that out of it comes something good, something perfect, something essential for all mankind to have in order to have reconciliation back to our Heavenly Father. In the eyes of God and His approach in orchestrating the events on this earth, pain & trials always contains in it divine purposes so that something good in His eyes will come forth. The Cross is an essential for all to experience the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of our relationship with the Holy God.

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"for all haves sinned and fall short of the glory of God" ~ Romans 3:23

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Our God is a good God and every thing big and small from above is good, filled with His bountiful love and grace. In light of all these truths, what is categorized under the non-essentials and the essentials in our lives need to be reconsidered so that we can function in the created order of life which God has planned for our lives. In view of what is happening in our current lives in the state of isolation, lockdowns and literally zero non-essentials, let us reflect on our lives so that we can:

• Rediscover the essentials on our lives. Our bodies and health are the basic first gifts that God has given to us which is good. This is a big area which we see how many have suffered from the viscous cycle of work at all costs without rest, eat at all costs without proper dietary checks and entertainment at all costs without exercises. Have we all been good stewards? Our relationships, primarily our families, should also take prominent place in falling under the essentials amidst the other relationships in our sphere of influences. Spouses, children and parents, have they been neglected? Have proper investment been made to build the relationships found in the families?
• Reconstruct the approaches we have been utilizing for years in our lives when it comes to self-care, marriage, parenthood, career and aspirations. With more time on hand now for most of us and also more time with our loved ones, take time to examine the different areas mentioned to see if there is a gap, a loop hole, a blind-spot or simply a lack of responsibility for the things that has been entrusted to us, leading different ones to reap the fruit of negative consequences e.g. sickness, work-related stresses, divorces, no-control over children etc. which many may be facing now irregardless of the pandemic. With the pandemic, the consequences will only escalate in terms of its price paid.
• Reset the way we live. Press the reset button now so that our lives can go back to default mode where essentials are taken seriously and more intentionally with pro-active actions and steps. This pandemic has put a temporary halt by force to many of the non-essentials in our lives which has given us more time and space for the essentials - our health, relationships and purpose. We all need a reset through the renewing of our minds in the word of God so that we do not simply conform to the world and the desires of our flesh. A good life through the lens of God is one whereby true essentials are treasured and taken care of, in complete obedience to God and God alone.

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"So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." ~ Romans 12:1-2

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Our God is the same yesterday, today and forever, unchangeable in His love for us all. His plans for us has not changed. His character has not changed. His greatest gift to us on the Cross is still good and its purposes are eternally good. The Cross right smack in the center of COVID19 will take all that is meant for evil and turn it for the good. Good Friday is not just good to hear or good because everyone is enjoying the comfort of life, with no concerns, no trials and no challenges. Good Friday is good because of the good and eternal gift of salvation that is given to us by God's abundant grace which requires faith to believe in what Christ has done for us on the Cross. Good Friday is good because it represent the key character of our God who is always good and faithful. Good Friday is good because there is a testimony of the gospel, the 'good news', to be brought to the ends of the earth for all to hear and respond.

I can earnestly and truthfully declare with a heart filled with convictions that it was still a very, very GOOD Friday.