Good Friday will always be one of the most significant dates in the Christian calendar. The day when Christ sacrificed Himself, once for all, for our sins is probably the event which brings us to our knees in awe and thanksgiving more than any other day.
The song ‘The Cross Stands’ captures this history-making moment well:
“Beyond this lifetime
Beyond this darkness, there’s light.
Your light is shining:
So, people, open your eyes.
The cross stands above it all,
Burning bright in this life,
The cross towers over it all.
One hope, one deliverer,
Saviour reigning high above it all,
Above it all.
These chains are breaking.
Your love is shaking us free.
A real awakening,
This world will finally see.
Christ has overcome.
It is finished; He has won.
Christ has overcome.
We’re standing strong.” (‘The Cross Stands’, Tim Hughes, Nick Herbert, Ben Cantelon, Matt Redman)
‘The Cross Stands’, Tim Hughes, Nick Herbert, Ben Cantelon, Matt Redman
When we were in Paris last year, we stayed near the Tour Montparnasse, which at 210m is one of the tallest buildings in the city and offers great views over the capital of France:
The Eiffel Tower is probably Paris’s most famous landmarks, 324m tall:
The CN tower in Toronto is 533m high:
Currently, the Tokyo Skytree, at 634m, is the tallest tower in the world:
Obviously, the cross of Christ does not literally ‘tower over it all’ in the way these towers stand out from their skylines. But in importance, in significance, in the fact that this is the only way by which we can be saved, the cross does indeed stand above it all, tower over it all, and our hearts are glad.