"Friday"

Friday means the weekend,

When folks are having fun,

They jump off of the deep end,

Outside and in the sun.

They say “thank God it’s Friday,”

‘Cause that’s when work is done,

Flyin’ down the highway,

And happy on the run.

But there was once a Friday,

A long, long time ago,

And it was not a high day,

In fact it was quite low.

The begotten of the Father,

Lay down His life to die,

To heal the world’s old squalor,

And here’s the truth, no lie.

Though He loved the whole world,

And all the human race,

It was our sin that He hurled,

Into endless space.

For as far as from the east is,

Sin distanced from the west,

He wanted us to be His,

And give us peaceful rest.

Nailed and sadly beaten,

By His stripes we can heal,

His flesh the bread that’s eaten,

His cleansing we can feel.

So, thank God it’s Friday,

The day His blood was shed,

And with it all our debts pay,

That’s what the Good Book said.

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners…” (Romans 5:6, NLT)

I’ve heard it all my life: “Jesus died on the cross for you.” I have always believed it was true. The reason, of course, is because we are sinners. He died for our sins so that we could be pardoned. But I could not get past the guilt I felt because I was the cause of Jesus’ death. I know they told me Jesus loved me, but I did not feel very lovable. It was my fault He died, and I felt worthless and ashamed. Later, however, I came to a better understanding of Jesus’ death. It was for my sins He died, but also because I am valuable in His eyes. The value of anything is determined by what someone pays for it. It may be appraised for an amount, but the actual value is what someone gives in exchange for it. What is our value? We were bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus. This means, in spite of our sin, He places a very high value on us. How can we devalue what He gave His blood to save?

Lord, help us realize the full impact of Your great sacrifice for us, in Jesus’ name.

Art by R.S. Riddick, rsriddick.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Mr. Riddick, and God bless you.