Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.  Psalm 68:20

Death - to some it is final, and there is nothing else.  To God and to us, His Christian people, there is more.  Because of Jesus' death, death is not the ending - but the end of our earthly existance, leading into eternal life.

One of the saddest days of my life was when my Uncle Mel died.  The funeral was led by a Reform rabbi.  There is no belief in life after death in the Reform movement, and no confession of Jesus as God's Christ.  As the casket was rolled to its final resting place, the hopelessness of it all sank in.  Oh, how I wish Uncle Mel had confessed Jesus as his Savior before he died.

Jesus foretold His death many times, but the disciples did not understand.  Just as the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed for blood to be shed and put on the doorposts of the Israelites' homes, to protect them from the angel of death, so Jesus had to die to make payment for all our sin and to protect us from eternal death.

Was it good for God's Son to die?  Perhaps not in our eyes, but in God's eyes, yes.  He wants the best for the good of humankind.  He gave His best, His one and only Son - so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.  That's good news for us.  That's what makes Good Friday good for the world.

 From "Portals of Prayer" (c) 2005 by Concordia Publishing House.  Reproduced by permission under license number 07:09-18B.  For ordering information contact Concordia at www.cph.org .