The Accomplishment of the Cross
Today, many Christians are observing what is commonly called Good Friday. Jesus suffered an agonizing death on the cross for our sins and he fulfilled prophecies. Not a good day for him, physically, but good for us.
His bodily Resurrection demonstrated that he had defeated death (Rom.
1:4, 2 Tim. 1:10, Isaiah 25:8). But despite some foolish songs and
claims of enthusiastic new Christians, we do not get our tickets punched
for a life of physical happiness on Earth.
We
still suffer, even though we are adopted as children of God (Rom.
8:23). Many people suffer because they are Christians, some even
experience torture and death. But if the crucifixion and Resurrection of
Jesus defeated death, what is happening? We are still waiting for
promises to be fulfilled.
Some people give up on God because they expect him to be a cosmic wish-granting djinn, giving them what they want, when they want it. Doesn't work that way. Jesus is God the Son, the Creator (Col 1:16, John 1:1-3). We are living in a fallen world since shortly after creation. Sin and death entered the world when Adam sinned (Rom. 3:12 Gen. 3:19). God's plan is to restore all things to where they were at creation. That means no pain and death. Let me turn you over to an article to explain it better than I can.
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| Credit: Unsplash / Aaron Burden |
Some people give up on God because they expect him to be a cosmic wish-granting djinn, giving them what they want, when they want it. Doesn't work that way. Jesus is God the Son, the Creator (Col 1:16, John 1:1-3). We are living in a fallen world since shortly after creation. Sin and death entered the world when Adam sinned (Rom. 3:12 Gen. 3:19). God's plan is to restore all things to where they were at creation. That means no pain and death. Let me turn you over to an article to explain it better than I can.
At the end of his creative acts, God declared his completed creation “very good” (Genesis 1:31). He gave the animals and humans plants to eat (Genesis 1:29–30). The Creator promised Adam that if he disobeyed the command to not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he would surely die (Genesis 2:15–17). This, indeed, happened after Adam disobeyed; Adam and Eve would now return to the dust from which they were formed (Genesis 3:19). In an act of mercy, God sent them from the Garden of Eden so that they would not live forever in their sinful state (Genesis 3:22–23) in the now-corrupted creation (Genesis 3, Romans 8:18–22).To finish reading, click on "What Does Jesus’ Death Accomplish?" For a similar article with additional information, I recommend "Life in light of the resurrection".