Good Friday – Love on the Cross
Friday, April 18
✝️ Good Friday – Love on the Cross
And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ “Having said this, He breathed His last. Luke 23:46
The theme of today’s devotional is one word: Love. Do you truly believe that God loves you?
For many, love is a complicated word. Maybe you’ve struggled to receive it. Maybe the people closest to you haven’t shown it well. Maybe you’ve been failed by others again and again. Perhaps you’ve searched for love and come up empty — even in your own reflection. Maybe your past feels too broken, your sins too heavy, your shame too deep to be loved.
But today, on Good Friday, I invite you to look to the greatest act of love in all of history: Jesus on the cross.
As Jesus was crucified, darkness fell. The curtain in the temple tore. The world held its breath.
And on that rugged hill, Love took on flesh, bore the weight of every sin, and died — so that we could live. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” — Matthew 27:46
In that agonizing cry, we witness the cost of love. God the Father, holy and perfect, turned His face away as Jesus, the spotless Lamb, became sin for us.
As Paul wrote, “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” — 2 Corinthians 5:2. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and gave His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Then, with His final breath, Jesus didn’t whisper defeat — He declared victory: “It is finished.” — John 19:30
The debt of sin has been settled. The wrath of God satisfied. Nothing left undone. Nothing more to prove. Nothing more to pay. So yes, Jesus died — but Love was not defeated.
The cross is not the end of the story.
It is the turning point.
It is just the beginning
And it was all for you.
Good Friday is a day of sorrow, yes — but it is also a day of unspeakable love. Let the weight of it move you. Let the power of it change you. Let the beauty of it lead you to worship.
You are deeply loved — proven once and for all at the cross.
Prayer for today: Thank You, Jesus, for the cross. Help me never to take Your sacrifice for granted. Let this love change everything in me. Today I remember with a mix of pain, sorrow, awe, and overwhelming gratitude. Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul. Thank You, Lord, for making a way. Worthy are You, Lamb who was slain, to receive blessing, honor, dominion, and glory forever and ever. Amen.