Why Do You Call It Good?

About a week before Easter, I, Jeff, was talking to a German friend here. I was helping him with his English while he was helping me with my German. We started talking about holidays and he was quick to mention that he doesn’t celebrate any religious holidays. In fact, they annoy him. He went on to explain that when there’s a holiday that causes a four-day week, to compensate his work makes him compress five days into four. I guess that would bug me too, especially if I didn’t celebrate the holiday in the first place.

While talking about holidays, since Easter was coming up we started talking about it and how it is celebrated in Germany. When I mentioned Good Friday a puzzled look crossed his face. He paused and asked, “Why do you call the day Jesus died Good? In German, it’s called Charfreitag or Sorrowful Friday.” That opened a door for me to tell him about how Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross paid the penalty my sin deserved. I call it “good” because he died in my place so I can live with him. I haven’t seen a harvest in this man’s life yet, but I know seeds were planted. Learning another language can open doors to the Gospel that otherwise would never be opened! Praise God!