Lackluster No More: A Good Friday Meditation
“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.”
..Matthew 27.27–31, NKJV.
Not A Good Friday
Not all who gathered around Jesus were his friends. Life in Christ is not a matter of proximity but of purpose. You can be in the right place and completely wrong in the heart. The litmus test of a life that is marked by passionate spiritual pursuit is not having one’s name in the church attendance roster regularly, but the grooves worn in the carpet on the prayer room floor. The soldiers who gathered around Christ on good Friday, fashioned Him a crown, and bowed their knee before Him were not near Him to worship, they were near Him to mock. This was not a good Friday for Jesus, but because of His work on the cross it can be for us.
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame… But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you.”
..Hebrews 6.4–6,9a, NKJV.
If we will walk in repentance and relinquish everything to Christ, His kingdom, and His purpose over our lives, it is a good Friday for us. If our taste for the Word of God grows into a roaring fire that consumes the distraction and noise in our lives, it is a good Friday for us. If we will make room for Him and push out worthless things, it is a good Friday for us. These are the better things the Lord Himself has planned and prepared for us who believe. So recklessly abandon your will for His and you will find yourself near Him for all the right reasons. His presence will transform you in greater and greater ways until you are changed into something and someone you never thought you could be. For the surrendered soul, it is a good Friday.
His Word for the Hardened
But what if your soul feels dull, numb, lifeless, lukewarm, non-responsive? What do you do if your heart feels heavy, more like a rock than an ember fueled by His fire? The good news is that this can be a good Friday for you too. If, with open hands, you will raise your condition to Him, exposing your stony rigidness and relentless self-seeking to the flame of His Word and presence, He WILL transform it. He will break the hounding nighttime that has a hold over your soul into a million pieces. He will obliterate your apathetic indifference if you let Him into your mess. He overcame death and the cross. He certainly has the power to overcome and route out your emptiness. If you will surrender to Him, He will light up your hazy darkness until your flickering soul is reignited, fully alive, and lackluster no more.
“Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord,
“And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”
..Jeremiah 23.29
