Free.

The darkest day in history; the depth of the darkness was not only visible, it was piercingly felt. There was a choking, suffocating weight of despair, of sin. A crowd formed; some cheered, some wailed, some fled, some stood silent in shock. Whatever their stance, perhaps even those who threw condemnation, though they were too succumbed in their own beliefs to admit it, could sense the credence that this really was the Son of God.

The Son of God; blameless, sinless, the only picture of perfection. He was fastened to a splintered cross to endure the most humiliating, inhumane death. The beauty of Heaven was wrapped in the entirety of sin. He hung with harsh spikes splitting his flesh, containing all the power to be freed in just a blink, though he wasn’t focused on the pain. He wasn’t cursing his accusers nor was he begging for relief;  he was focused on the joy. He chose joy because he knew that with each drop of blood, with every staggering breath lost, it was one second closer to my freedom. He was thinking of us.  

Through bloodied sweat he strangled out, “It is finished”, and he died; God’s son died. The watchers moaned and cheered. The earth shook violently, a proclamation of God’s pain to watch the one who He’d never known a moment without, die.

Doubt overwhelmed, threatening to drown out the words He’d promised to those who knew Him. All believers waited; this couldn’t be the end. Three days of silence. Three days of unreserved hopelessness. Three days of swelling agony barely endured.

The sun broke the night on the third day- there was a catch in the air, something had shifted. The ground quaked again, this time in announcement. A creature of light came and moved away the stone that separated life from death, revealing an empty tomb. Death was defeated.

From the place where there is no escape, Jesus stood in full victorious, radiating glory with one thought- my daughter will be free, my son will be free. Our God made a way out; He is the only escape from the dark that relentlessly chases. Death is gone, separation is shattered and worthlessness is removed.

Now we are of immeasurable worth because the Creator of Life dared to die for us. His scars cover all of ours; His joy is now free to know. He overcame, so we overcome. He reigns victorious, so we have all victory.

He ruptured the chains that once claimed our lives. Death loses, Grace wins and we are FREE.

"Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" Romans 5:7-10