Crucified

On this Good Friday, we can reflect not only on the love of Jesus expressed through His suffering, but also on the fact that He did it for you. We can ask ourselves how the cross makes a difference for us. Galatians chapter 2 states:
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."

Jesus gave of Himself - motivated by His great love for humanity and by the necessity of a perfect sacrifice being offered to restore us to the Father.  Realizing that He died and rose again, we can think about the implications for our lives. A crucified life for the Christian believer is a new life - we lay down the ways of this world and adopt His ways, reliant on the Holy Spirit to carry them out.  Recognizing that Jesus died to forgive us of sin and rose so that we might enjoy His power over sin and death, we can put to death sinful impulses and acts, so that we may experience the fullness of His life.

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Through the cross, our old self was put to death and we can be free from it and live in the new life that Jesus purchased for us, bringing reconciliation with the Father. Colossians chapter 1 states:
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight...

The message of Good Friday is a message that brings hope - the hope of a new life, of a transformation by the power of God, the experience of the love of God, and freedom from sin.  On this Good Friday, I wanted to share a transformation story of someone who experienced the power of the cross in her life.

She is an actress named April Hernandez Castillo. CBN.com provides some insight into her journey.  In a 2011 interview, she recounted how her successful career came to a screeching halt after her decision to follow Jesus.  The article says:

Before accepting Christ, Hernandez Castillo was living her dream in Hollywood with guest-starring roles on several hit TV series, like Law and Order and ER. But her breakout role came in 2007 when she played "Eva Benitez" in the film Freedom Writers starring Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, and Scott Glenn.

But after she agreed to living a life obedient to God, she went through a "desert time" where she could not find acting jobs for three years. She told CBN that God was taking away her dreams so she could fulfill His plans for her.

She recognized his hand on her life; the actress says: "I believe that it was God. He really had to strip me of my character. He had to break everything that I had put in my mind. God said 'I can't be second, I have to be first.' And what made it so difficult was that I felt so alone like I didn't have anyone I could communicate with and have them tell me 'I know how you feel.'"

Castillo has written a book called, Embracing Me, which also includes her recollections about a particularly painful incident in her life - the CBN article relates that she told The Christian Post: "When it comes to the topic of abortion, it took me close to 20 years to feel safe to share that part of my life," and adds: "I am here to serve that woman who is terrified. I am here to serve that unborn baby," she added. "I pray that no one has to go through that."  She also says, "I want to talk about how can we prevent this moment, if possible. How can we support a woman if she does do this?"

Out of the pain of that abortion and an abusive relationship, God reached down and touched April's life, according to an earlier Christian Post article, which reported on some of her comments at a conference:

After her abortion, Hernandez-Castillo “swept it under the rug” and was a “new woman.” Her career was taking off and she was in a new relationship.

In 2008, her boyfriend began attending church and convinced her to go. She was still angry at God so she went to church with red lipstick, black sunglasses and sat in the back with her arms crossed (“because we always assume that the Holy Spirit won’t reach us in the back”).

As the pastor spoke about forgiveness, her body started reacting.

The article goes on to say: “I remember reaching my hand up into the sky as if to rip Heaven apart and just pull it open and bring God down because I was desperate to be forgiven," adding that she was overcome by the power of God and relates that she heard God say to her, "My daughter, I forgive you. I love you. But I need you to forgive yourself."

The cross reminds us that God has forgiven us through the sacrifice of our Savior - but we have to take hold of that forgiveness, to receive it into our lives and to walk in it.  Because unforgiveness is a cancer and will paralyze us - even the inability to receive God's forgiveness for ourselves.  That's the message that God has given to April Hernandez-Castillo...and to us!

This Friday is called "Good," but it's actually a day of pain and suffering - an innocent man brutally murdered.  But it's good because of what that means for us.  Our great and loving Savior loved us so much that He was willing to die, to pay a heavy penalty that we could never pay and by so doing, to bring us into a relationship with our Heavenly Father.  We are forgiven because of Jesus, and because He lives in us, we can forgive others and point people to a loving Savior, who gave His life so that we, by laying down our lives, might truly know His freedom.