Friday, March 21, 2008

Good Friday: God's Great Goodness

In recognition of the magnitude of this day in all of history...


Many know this verse:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
-John 3:16

And some may know this one:
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
-Romans 5:8

But long before those were written it was foretold in Isaiah 53:
3. He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4. Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

5. But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

6. We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7. He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

...This may not seem to "good" on the surface, but God's gift to us at Christmas means very little without the occurrences that we recognize on this day.

In recognition of this day and this weekend a talented friend of mine expressed his reflections in his sketchbook. Feel free to have a look and click on the sketch to get a closer view.

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