Father, you are greater than anyone or anything in all the universe. For you created all that is, all that was, and all that is to come. There is no one like you. From everlasting to everlasting, you are God. Your power is immeasurable. Nothing is too hard for you. Yet you use your power not for yourself, but for others. And you use your power for the good of others, for you are completely good. There is no evil in you, because goodness is in your nature, and you are holy and righteous and cannot allow any evil to go unpunished and extinguished forever. You are, as the scriptures say, “a consuming fire.” You love good and destroy evil. Were it not for your mercy and grace, also a part of your nature, we would be doomed to destruction. In fact, we were objects of your wrath until you provided a sacrifice for our rebellion against you, our own evil, our sin. For we were born into sin, but to your glory, you rescued us from that certain wrath and eternal destruction. You provided your very own son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for our sin. You planned this from before the foundation of the world, for you, knowing all, knew that we would rebel against you and become objects of your wrath. In your mercy and grace, you planned that Jesus would be born as one of us, life a life that completely and totally followed your perfect will. Then, for the joy that was set before him (us!), he gave up his life for our sakes. Taking on the sin of the whole world as he hung on a cross, he satisfied your wrath. You completely cut yourself off from him, just as you would have done with us, and he experienced the hell of complete separation from you. We know this to be true, for he cried out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken (abandoned) me?” In those hours, our salvation was won. Then he gave up his life. No one took his life from him, but he gave up his life freely. As the scriptures say, “He bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” He completely entrusted himself to you, even in his darkest hour. And on the third day after his death, because your wrath was satisfied, you raised him from the dead to new life. Just as we died to our sins along with him, on that third day we also arose to new life along with him. What a mystery, but what mercy and grace! What a wonder you are! You are beyond our comprehension in your goodness mercy and grace! We are forever grateful! Amen.
