A Good Friday Reflection

I had a Good Friday like I’ve never had before. I went hiking. Not only did I go hiking, but I hiked Table Mountain. Table Mountain is a famous landmark for Cape Town which attracts multitudes of people each year. When I was here this past June we rode the cable car up, and I knew if I came back that I wanted to hike the mountain. Now, this hike is definitely known to be quite strenuous, but it was worth every second. (It was even worth it after my clumsy self ran into a tree and fell down. J) There are multiple different routes to hike up Table Mountain but our group decided on Skeleton’s Gorge which is a longer, harder journey, but it is worth it because you hike through different terrain. As we hiked up the mountain on Good Friday I could not help but ponder life, the day and what Good Friday means for you and me.

The central theme that stuck out to me throughout the entire day while basking in the beauty of God’s creation, soaking in the moment, and living life to the fullest in those moments is that I was only able to hike yesterday because of what Christ did on the cross. God, through the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ, redeemed you and I. In that single act God bestowed upon all of creation the single greatest act of selfless love in history. Now since that moment, society has butchered that love, misused it, abused it, and struggled to understand it but that does not change the fact that God still desires to redeem all of creation to God’s self. And the crazy thing is that when Christ died upon that Cross God beckoned us to enter into the story.

As I hiked Table Mountain yesterday I felt so small on that mountain. I felt so small in comparison to the world and universe. I felt so small. Yet, in my smallness, Christ died for me. It was I (us), “the small” that are significant. It is the small that God uses again and again throughout history to be a part of the story. So as I climbed, I realized my infinite insignificance in the scheme of the world, but on this Good Friday I was reminded of my great significance to God. The thought hit me that we realize the power of the cross when we see our significance in God, and we desire to enter into the story whole-heartedly, unashamedly, and willing to go, do, live and be as God desires: REDEEMED.