The Salvation of the Lord
"Sovereign LORD, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people." (Luke 2:29-31 NIV)
Every year, I start thinking about this particular day of the week leading up to Easter way back in November—specifically, on "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving when retailers hope to get "in the black," profit-wise.
You probably know that this phrase goes back to the days when a positive balance in a company's account would be written in black ink, whereas a negative balance would be written in red.
Black Friday always brings to my mind another Friday that was also very black. A day when the Light of the World told darkness it could have its hour of reign. A day so ultimately lightened by the Morning Star, we now call it Good Friday.
What was bad about Good Friday was so very bad, it breaks our hearts: Jesus, tortured beyond human recognition. Our sin piercing His sinless head. God the Father turning His face away—because His holiness could not look on all that depravity, but also, we can almost imagine, because He knew if He looked on the suffering of His Beloved, He'd swoop in to save Him. (Of course, I know Jesus, being fully God, could have saved Himself. Of course I know God never loses control. Yet oh, the grief of His Father heart.)
But what was good about Good Friday was so very good, it saves our souls.
Sweet friends, maybe today is a day so dark for you, you can't imagine how you'll ever see the light of a good day again. But maybe what God is allowing to darken your life right now is saving your soul, too.
Do you see it? We were all in the red. Our debt of sin was beyond repayment. But on that day called Good, The Salvation of the Lord asked that our deficit be transferred to His account. With the red of His blood, He wrote a new balance for each of us.
And this accounting showed the greatest gain of all: the profit of our eternal lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!