He Descended To The Dead

The Sacrificial God

Today is Good Friday, the day of the Christian year when our mind turns to the crucifixion. Not just any crucifixion, though. They were commonplace in ancient Rome and still are carried out in the Middle East today. This was the crucifixion of God. It is hard to fathom, but true. The God who created and delights in the universe and in the humans who bear his image, became one of us, part of his creation, to die. I've always wondered why it would take that. Couldn't there have been another way? I've heard various answers to that question since I was a little girl, but what I'm just beginning to understand is that our God is a life giving, sacrificial God. It is his nature, not an aberration.

If God is a god of sacrifice, then how should we, his image bearers live?

Kyrie Eleison. Christe Eleison. Kyrie Eleison.