Today is Good Friday. It’s a solemn time to remember and give thanks for what Christ did for us on the cross.

Billy had a younger sister who was confined to a wheelchair. He took her to school and brought her from class to class. He was happy to do so. He was caring for his sister, and it gave him purpose.

Unfortunately, his sister passed away at the end of the fourth grade. This changed his life. He became sad and upset. Not too long after he started acting out. He developed a reputation for being a trouble-maker.

When he got to seventh grade there was a new teacher, Mr. Smith. He called Billy forward. Naturally, he thought he was in trouble (again). But something else happened. 

“Billy, these records tell me all kinds of bad things about you. Billy, I read over your records and I don’t believe a word of what is written there.”

In effect, he was saying, ‘I’m tearing up these bad reports about you. That’s not who you really are.’

A few days later Billy was in Sunday School. The teacher asked if they knew anyone like Jesus. Billy raised his hand: “Mr. Smith!”*

On the cross, Christ did something generous and life-changing: “He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14).

Good Friday is good—not because of what happened to Jesus, but because of what happened for us.

Remember. Worship. Pray. Say thank you. And live free.

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Notes:

-If you’re close to Barrie, Canada and don’t have a church home, click here to learn about our Good Friday or Easter Sunday service.

-Tony Campolo, Stories That Feed Your Soul (California: Regal Light, 2010), 23-24.

–Note: Because of Easter Monday, The Up Devotional resumes on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

-Bible quotes are from the NIV.