By: Gabriela Yareliz
This weekend, we celebrate God’s intervention in the universe to save humanity. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to talk about something that is deeply important to me– the most important thing of all. It is what inspires my life, my writing, everything…
“Christianity is the only religion in which God suffers along with us.” Jesus on Trial, pg. 328, Limbaugh.
Jesus came to be a mediator. He reconciled us with God the Father. He took my guilt upon Him, so that I might have life.
Dr. Tony Evans preached that the Friday we call “Good Friday” was a dark day. The disciples saw Him, whom they knew to be Christ, crucified. All seemed finished– and then, came Sunday. Resurrection. Victory. Life. Authority. Power. Redemption.
Our victory comes from that blood that was shed. “By His wounds we are healed.”
“God wants to provide a mediator to redeem us because He loves us. He is not compromising His justice or His standards by providing Jesus to us as our mediator. To the contrary, by doing so, He has made possible our reconciliation to Him and our ability to have permanent loving relationship with Him without compromising His holiness.” Jesus on Trial, pg. 328, Limbaugh.
Today, I want us to see our lives through the lens of Christ’s sacrifice and ministry on our behalf. Christ’s victory and life is a reflection of the power and victory we can have, through Him, in our lives, today.
If you are having a bad day like Good Friday, as Dr. Evans preached, don’t forget that after Friday came resurrection Sunday. Friday did not have the last word. God did. And today, in your life, nothing and no one has the last word, except God.
Our choices and selfishness and the choices of others, plus life’s circumstances, bring about a lot pain, anxiety and suffering.
“For the real sting of suffering is not misfortune itself, nor even the pain of it or the injustice of it, but the apparent God-forsakenness of it. Pain is endurable, but the seeming indifference of God is not.” John Stott, The Cross of Christ, as cited in Jesus on Trial, pg. 329.
The way we see our circumstances changes when we come to the realization that God is always near. He has not forsaken us. Instead of forsaking us, God has paid the ultimate price and shown patient mercy.
“Where love is possible, there pain is also possible. Where resurrection is promised, there is also promise of tears wiped away. Heaven is the confirmation of our choice, to love Him and to be with Him. That is the hope of everyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal.” Ravi Zacharias
John Stott once said, “I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. The only God I believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed as ‘God on the Cross.'”
Tomorrow, as you see the sun rise and shine over you, remember the life and victory obtained on a certain Sunday that changed everything. Salvation is an open invitation to all. Everything has been paid.
If you are living a dreadful Friday filled with darkness, death and disappointment, remember that Sunday is near. Remember, God is near.
The only God I believe in is the One that left the tomb empty. He lives! And because He lives, I can face today, tomorrow and beyond. I know He is with me every step of the way. I know He cares. His hands were scarred for me. I can be cleansed from my sins and mistakes, only in His blood. He lives. “God on the cross” is my only hope.
I leave you with the words of the angel who was at Christ’s empty tomb: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen…” Matthew 28:5-6
GABRIELA YARELIZ 
Christianity is the only religion in which God suffers along with us.” Jesus on Trial, pg. 328, Limbaugh.?
Isn’t it a wrong statement? In hinduism mythology people follow lord rama suffered for people and lived leaving his wife for people’s sake. Instead you can say like Christianity is the only religion in which God gave his life for the people and sacrificed himself to pay ultimate price of death for all of mankind who believe in him.