Beautiful Nightmare

Good Friday? It's an odd term...seems inappropriate some how, doesn't it? Historically the church has called the Friday before Easter, Good Friday...the day we remember Jesus crucified. For those who have seen or heard about The Passion of the Christ, the term good seems way out of line. The horrific images of torture & brutality chill any human to the bone, regardless of their religious persuasion. The whipping, the mocking, the blood thirsty crowd seem far from "good". When you picture a man bleeding to death after being whipped one lash short of death, and then that man who can barely walk, is now being asked to carry the heavy wooden cross that would become his "electric chair"...it all seems grossly inhumane. When metal stakes are driven through the man's feet & hands to attach Him to this cross...and then its hoisted straight up into the air where He hangs, bleeding to death, for all the world to see...you can't help but think "this is the furthest thing from a 'good friday' I've ever seen". Yet as this innocent man dies...one can't help but think, "Why?" Three days later we discover why...when Jesus proves He is God and demonstrates His power over sin AND death by rising from the dead in victory! Suddenly, this nightmare of a Friday becomes incredibly beautiful. Out of this death God brings life. Out of this tragedy, God brings celebration. Out of this ugliness, God brings beauty. Out of this hatred, God brings love. Out of this brokenness, God brings healing. Out of this harsh rejection, God brings restoration of relationship. Whoa, now that is "good!". God is so creative, so mysterious, so amazing...that even the horrible can be celebrated as beautiful! Perhaps this is God's way of telling us not to give up. Perhaps this is God's way of illustrating that there is always hope in Him. Maybe, just maybe, God is trying to dramatically show us that no matter how messed up, broken, dysfunctional, whacked out and painful life is...in Him True Life lives on! We see it all around us...living parables if you will...isn't it amazing how many plants have to die, in order to give up their seeds, to bring new life! Isn't it amazing to think of the painful, bloody trauma of giving birth...which births forth one of the most incredible blessings a person can experience, this side of heaven! Holding a new born leaves even the hardest heart in awe! Water needs to dry up and evaporate in order to gather in the clouds to be taken to dry land to rain down life on some prairie somewhere. The knob cone pine tree here in the Pacific Northwest, needs forest fires in order for there to be enough heat to cause its pine cones to burst open...so its seeds can be released! Amazing! Without forest fires, knob cone pine trees could not flourish! How odd is that? How beyond my thinking is that? How creative is that? The fact of Resurrection is seen throughout our world in many places...they are God reminders, I do believe. At ECHO we love to celebrate the biggest God reminder of them all...it is called Easter weekend... where an ugly Friday filled with the worst humanity can offer... becomes a Good Friday! In fact, "good" seems like an understatement now...perhaps it should be "Stupendous Friday", "Incredible Friday", "Fantastic Friday" or "Amazing Friday". Just think, the very death that Satan thought would stop Jesus plan, actually ensured its success. It's good to know God is always one step ahead, eh? Remember, without Friday...there would be no Resurrection on Sunday...there would be no victory over sin & death...there would be no Easter!

be God's!

Brian O

Lead Pastor dude, ECHO