Good morning! Thank God it’s Friday!! I definitely look forward to Fridays – the end of the work week, finding time to rest, and focusing on the things that you WANT to focus on rather than the things you HAVE to focus on. But this isn’t just any Friday, this is GOOD FRIDAY!
About five years ago, I had the bright idea of putting a new roof on the house. Talking with a few people at work, I made the decision to save money by doing it ‘myself.’ Of course I invited as many people as I could to come and help and the plan was to get it done in two days – one to rip the old roof and the other to lay the new roof.
For a little more context… I chose the weekend to complete the work probably about a month before and since some of my family was coming from the great State of New Jersey, I did my best not to change the days. That weekend, there was a ridiculous heat wave that came through and it was easily the hottest weekend of that entire summer.
I started on Friday with my brother and a friend from work, that’s when we realized there were more layers than we thought and the ripping was going to take longer than expected. Then my supervisor at the time came by and we kept working until the roof was ripped down to the boards and ready for the new shingles to be laid down.
The next day was hotter than the first and more of my family came to help and my supervisor came back as well. We were miserable in the heat – taking water breaks under the two trees in my side yard and the guys thanking me for picking the hottest weekend EVER!
There were a couple of things that held us up and although we got most of it done in the two days that I had planned, there was still a lot of work left to do on the final day of the weekend before going back to work.
Everyone was busy on the Sunday, and I was desperate! There was no way that I was going to be able to finish the rest by myself, so I reached out to another friend and he came over to help me finish up – it took us the entire third day to have everything completed. When I say that I was desperate, I WAS DESPERATE! I will be forever grateful to the men that gave up their weekend to bail me out of the mess that I was in!
These men and their families were selfless and put my need above their own! I will never forget the selfless act they showed me that weekend and I would do anything for them in return! This is one of the most recent times where I can remember a group of people rallying together to rescue me from a situation I never would have escaped from on my own!
As great as these men were, there is someone who has done something even more incredible and selfless for me than anyone ever has or ever could. His Name is JESUS!
He left Heaven to come to this earth in the most humble way, a baby born in a stable and laid in a manger. He was fully man and fully God all at the same time. He was tempted, and did not sin. There were times when He became tired, but ran to His Father to be His source of strength. His mission was to seek and save the lost, no matter the cost.
When sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, it separated us from our Holy God. He set up the law which is described in the Old Testament in the Bible, to show us our sinful ways and point out our need for a Savior! When God rescued the Israelites from Egypt on what was the very first Passover, the blood of the sacrificed lamb was placed on the doorposts of the homes of the Israelites so the angel of death would ‘pass over’ their homes – ultimately saving their family.
The sacrifices put in place according to the law had to be repeated over and over. The sacrifice of Jesus was a perfect sacrifice, done once and for all!
“And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Hebrews 10:10
Talk about a selfless act to rescue us from a more than desperate situation – He saved us from an eternity apart from Him! His love is unconditional, His love is endless, His love is perfect! We could never have done anything to escape the punishment for our sin, so He did what was necessary and fulfilled the requirement of the law – once and for ALL! That’s right! For YOU and for ME!
I remember sitting down when the roof was all done and saying to my wife – I am so glad and thankful that the job was finished. I do not ever want to do that again! But when Jesus was on the cross, before breathing His last breath and giving up His spirit, He said, “IT IS FINISHED!” No other sacrifice is necessary!
All you have to do is recognize your need for a Savior and accept the sacrifice that He paid for you! No one could ever love you more! No one could ever love you better!
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:13
He has TRANSFORMED my life and so many others! If you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior, consider making the choice today – you will not regret it!
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving up Your one and only Son to be the ultimate sacrifice, once and for all! He paid the price that we never could and did it willingly because of the amazing love that He has for us! Help us to accept the work that Jesus did for us on the cross and commit our lives to You – living every day to be more like Your Son, Jesus! In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 