There are two famous Fridays on the calendar: Good Friday and Black Friday.
With Easter approaching, I started having more Holy Week conversations with my kids. Both my seven-year-old and nine-year-old inadvertently swapped the first word for these two holidays.
As I thought about these designated titles through the mind of a child, it seems that their innocent mistakes appear logical.
As an adult, you are probably aware that Black Friday refers to the retailers perspective of finally going “into the black,” meaning that they made a profit, instead of operating at a loss--staying in the red.
But young children are not aware of business terms, so they most likely associate titles with feelings.
Why would the horrific murder of our Savior be referred to as “good,” while the biggest toy shopping day of the year would be considered “black”?
Their unintentional interchanges had me thinking about the comparison of these two holidays:
Good Friday – Red Blood was dispensed
Black Friday – Red ink is replaced
Good Friday – Perfect Prophet lost His life
Black Friday – Financial profit is gained
Good Friday – Focus is on the Holy Cross
Black Friday – Focus is on the (+) addition of new possessions
Good Friday – Creator’s Eternal Sacrifice
Black Friday – Consumer’s temporary treasure
Good Friday – Centered on our Savior
Black Friday – Centered on savings
I found this juxtaposition very interesting. However, beyond their opposition, some connections were brought to mind . . .
Good Friday turned into a “Black Friday” on the day that Jesus died:
In physical terms . . . “At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.” (Mark 15:33 NIV)
In everlasting savings . . . Jesus did not exchange monetary income that day, but rather He paid the ultimate price to change the spiritual outcome of believers. His loss of earthly life for our gain of eternal life.
The cross is the ultimate bargain. You will never find a better deal--the day after Thanksgiving, or any other date on the calendar!
Good Friday is good indeed--it generated the Good News!!!
"This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life.’ ” (Romans 1:17 NLT)