When my wife and I receive from each other a greeting card that just “says it all” and is especially touching, we say, “Oh, you’ve got to certify this one!” So the person who gave the card will write “certified” on the card, meaning, “Yes! I meant exactly what it says.” If we come across the card in the future we may ask each other is it still true and have it “recertified.” You know, because life goes on and we may want to make sure we haven’t screwed things up and erased what was true at one time.
Throughout the history of man, God has communicated His love for us through various means, but when Jesus was crucified, God wrote “certified” on the cross. The cross is God’s certification that He meant everything He has said about His love for us and His desire to be connected with each one of us eternally. We don’t need Him to re-certify it because Jesus’ one-time death took care of sin for all time. We cannot de-certify it by our misdeeds. As it is written, “But God demonstrates (certifies) His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us… and offered for all time one sacrifice for sins” (Romans 5:8; Hebrews 10:12). Whenever you may be inclined to doubt God’s love for you, look back at the cross. It still says “certified!”
Something to take just a moment to consider on this Good Friday.
Yes and Amen!