Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. There are countless things that make this time of year beautiful to me, but absolutely nothing compares to the Time we set aside to Remember what Christ did for you and for me. When I look at this image of the mountain with trees mostly blooming closer to the ground and with just a few scattered green trees at the top, it makes me think about the day of the Crucifixion of Christ and the overall Journey of Faith. I’m sure the ground was filled with spectators that day, some of them salivating and shouting out for Jesus to be Crucified and some of them watching in horror. No doubt a few of them made their way closer to the top of Calvary just like some of the green trees are closer to the top in this image. But the truth is, the closer we get to the Cross, the fewer people we see because so many professed Christians would rather be spectators than they would fight their way closer to the Cross. Isn’t that the way you see the Journey of Faith too?

Today is Good Friday and I’ve often wondered how it got its name. The “good” is the end result of Jesus dying on the Cross so that we might have Hope and a Future but there was nothing good about the way it came to be. Today is a solemn day in my Heart each year as I consider the human side of what Christ did for me. He was brutally beaten to the point of being unrecognizable. He was flogged until the skin tore away from His body. He was spit on. His hair was torn out from His head and His beard. A crown of thorns was placed on His head as they mocked the “king” and the thorns pierced His skin. And then there’s the long journey carrying His cross naked and bloody for everyone to see until He was finally hung to die a slow and miserable death on the Cross. Solemn? That doesn’t begin to describe what my Heart feels and I have a hard time referring to it as “Good” Friday even though the GOOD came ONLY because He was willing to endure what He did. I don’t want a place in the “cheap seats” in my Journey of Faith and I’ll never be a spectator. I want to keep climbing my way closer to the Cross all the days of my Life. Sadly, the closer I get to the Cross, the fewer people I see.

I pity the ones so focused on Easter egg hunts and beautiful bunnies that they fail to teach their children about what Good Friday is all about. I feel sorry for the ones that gloss over His Crucifixion as if a child can’t understand suffering. I’m appalled by the ones who focus only on the Resurrection while they whitewash all that He endured getting there for you and me. Without Friday, there wouldn’t be a Sunday and without Easter, there wouldn’t be a Christmas. Even our churches are shying away from being too descriptive about what Christ did for us to avoid “offending” anybody. I recently attended a Passion play that I took my kids to see every year as they were growing up. People traveled far and wide to see the incredible depiction of the life and death of Jesus. It was graphic. The actor portraying Jesus was “bloody” and he groaned as he walked down the aisle being beaten. It was heart-wrenching. He was hung on the Cross and it looked so real…and then He was Resurrected! Yes, it was “scary” for my kids to see, that’s for sure, but it drove Home the message of the Cross within their Hearts and none of them have ever lost sight of what Christ did for us. It was worth it to share with them. The play today is an entirely different story because they removed the “offensive” and it’s been modified “for these times.” No miracles. No beatings or blood. No sign of the Price He paid for you and me. Today it’s a whitewashed portrayal of the Greatest Event the world has ever known. Yes, the closer you get to the Cross, the fewer people you see, and sadly some churches are taking multitudes with them to the cheap seats to teach them how to be a spectator instead of climbing closer to the Cross.

This is the most important time of year for me. It’s bigger than Christmas or milestone birthdays. It’s bigger than the celebration of new life or a new job. Nothing compares to this time of year! You won’t find me whitewashing what it represents with pastels and candy. I’ve got a front-row seat before the Throne of a Mighty God that sent His son to die for me and I’m not budging! The closer I get to the Cross the fewer people I see and THAT’S what keeps me busy sharing Christ with the world.

How about you?