Good Friday Thoughts
Well, I just got back from my church's wonderful Good Friday service. (which my big brother was in. He played Judas. High five, Shane! You did great!) It really was a good service, though it was different from the normal one we have had the past few years. We usually do a Tenebrae service, which is focused on the sadness and darkness of Jesus' death. This one was about seeing His death through the eyes of the people who saw it and asking the question "Who was Jesus?" We got to see through the eyes of a woman who was celebrating on Palm Sunday, Judas, a disciple, Peter, a Pharisee, and Pilate. Each song sung by each different person was indeed thought provoking but honestly, I don't think I got the main message they were trying to get across.
They were trying to make you think about who Jesus was and what His sacrifice means to you. But for me...I know who He is. I knew that He was who He claimed to be. He was the Son of God. But something else in the story caught my eye.
See, the pastor was talking about how all those people were expecting the coming Savior to be something. They all had ideas of who He would be and what He would be like. So when He didn't fit their description, they rejected Him. It would have been so much easier for Jesus to just conform. If He had only been the political leader Judas had wanted, if He had just followed the rules and been in order like the Pharisees, if only...if only...if only...
People would have liked Him a whole lot more if He had fit the description. If he had acted how they wanted Him to act, if He had fit in. But that wasn't what Jesus had come to do. He didn't come to please people. He was here on a mission from God and nothing was to distract Him from that goal.
That really hit me, because I want to follow Jesus. I want to do what He would do. But I never realized this cool point in the story. See, I'm not here to please people either. I am here to do God's will. Maybe people would like me more if I were the kind of person they wanted me to be. Maybe if I was smarter, or prettier, or more talented, or braver, then maybe people would like me more. If I only fit their description of "Pretty" and "Smart" and "Talented." But I'm not here to appease you. I am here to do whatever God wants me to do and if I spend my life trying to make you happy, I won't be doing God's will.
Just because I am not what you think "Pretty" is, doesn't mean I'm not pretty. I have talent, but its not how you view talent. I'm not "Smart" like you want me to be, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. I am not going to be the worlds definition of a lot of things, but not everything they say about me is true. I don't want to spend my life worrying about what other people say of me. I want to spend my life knowing who I am in Christ and pursuing His will with confidence.
The same goes for all of you. You don't need to conform to what other people want you to be. Jesus set an amazing example of how to do this. To focus on God and not worry about what other people say of you. People will bring you down and sometimes you will fall, but the important thing is to get back up again. You are not defined by what people say of you. You are God's child and He loves you very much. Focus on Him and let everyone else's opinions fade.
They were trying to make you think about who Jesus was and what His sacrifice means to you. But for me...I know who He is. I knew that He was who He claimed to be. He was the Son of God. But something else in the story caught my eye.
See, the pastor was talking about how all those people were expecting the coming Savior to be something. They all had ideas of who He would be and what He would be like. So when He didn't fit their description, they rejected Him. It would have been so much easier for Jesus to just conform. If He had only been the political leader Judas had wanted, if He had just followed the rules and been in order like the Pharisees, if only...if only...if only...
People would have liked Him a whole lot more if He had fit the description. If he had acted how they wanted Him to act, if He had fit in. But that wasn't what Jesus had come to do. He didn't come to please people. He was here on a mission from God and nothing was to distract Him from that goal.
That really hit me, because I want to follow Jesus. I want to do what He would do. But I never realized this cool point in the story. See, I'm not here to please people either. I am here to do God's will. Maybe people would like me more if I were the kind of person they wanted me to be. Maybe if I was smarter, or prettier, or more talented, or braver, then maybe people would like me more. If I only fit their description of "Pretty" and "Smart" and "Talented." But I'm not here to appease you. I am here to do whatever God wants me to do and if I spend my life trying to make you happy, I won't be doing God's will.
Just because I am not what you think "Pretty" is, doesn't mean I'm not pretty. I have talent, but its not how you view talent. I'm not "Smart" like you want me to be, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. I am not going to be the worlds definition of a lot of things, but not everything they say about me is true. I don't want to spend my life worrying about what other people say of me. I want to spend my life knowing who I am in Christ and pursuing His will with confidence.
The same goes for all of you. You don't need to conform to what other people want you to be. Jesus set an amazing example of how to do this. To focus on God and not worry about what other people say of you. People will bring you down and sometimes you will fall, but the important thing is to get back up again. You are not defined by what people say of you. You are God's child and He loves you very much. Focus on Him and let everyone else's opinions fade.
Very deep insight, and a good reminder this Easter weekend. It sounds like it was an inspiring experience :)
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