Today is Good Friday. While we instinctively know the goodness of this day, it almost seems impossible to the rational mind.

What makes this day good? How could the death of the Son of God ever be considered good.

First, the goodness of this day is because of God. This day shows us–in very tangible ways–how God loves us and to what length He has gone to make that love clear. Good Friday is John 3:16 in human form. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”  It is God and His work that makes this a good day–actually the best day ever.

Second, this day is good because it is the answer to our most basic problem–the problem of sin. How do we overcome our sinful natures and rebellious ways? How do we live in hope in the midst of a world that is hopeless? The answer is the cross and Good Friday.

Third, this day is good through God becoming sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Fourth, this day is good because of the day that is coming. The Apostles saw the resurrection as the proof of the power of God to do what He did in Christ. By the resurrection from the dead, God overcame sin and death. Because He lives, we also may live.

This day is Good because God is loving and kind. His gift and sacrifice gives us hope for today and for eternity. Because of Christ, I can make it through today. Because of Christ, I have hope to always live in His presence.