(In memory of Mary Neil Puryear Wise)

According to the Bible, the moment a person dies he becomes an instant theologian. Whether an atheist or a Buddhist … whether a Muslim or a Christian … whether a good person or a bad person or somewhere in between, when one “steps through an unseen veil” into eternity, he sees the one true God of glory (2^nd Corinthians 5:8; Luke 16:22-23).  And as his mind adjusts to his new surroundings – be it Paradise or Hades – his perspective changes considerably.  The things of this world quickly fade as his eternal home comes sharply into focus.

On Sunday evening, January 20^th of this year, the soul of my mother, Mary Neil Puryear Wise, stepped through that veil.

If we could somehow summon her out of eternity to stand before us once again, I’m sure we would have many questions to ask her.  But there would be one thing – above all else – she would want us all to know … clearly and fully.  She would, of course, declare that the crucified Son of God really is alive!  (After all, she has now seen Him in all His fullness.)  And so, let us all say, “May the wondrous grace and power of almighty God be praised!”  But there is something else my mother knows, and she would not want us to miss it.

She would want us to know why God the Father had His Son executed to begin with.  She would want us to know why it was not the will of God for Jesus to live to the ripe age of 90 (as she did), die of natural causes (as she did) and then be raised from the dead (as she will be).  No, as important as the resurrection of Jesus Christ is, Mary Neil would want us to understand more than the purpose of an empty tomb. She would first want us to clearly understand the purpose of a blood-stained Cross.

• She would want us to know that she … and every member of her family … and every friend she’s ever had … and, indeed, every person reading these words … have broken the moral laws of a holy God …

• that, in doing so, we have committed capital crimes against our divine Judge …

• and that our capital crimes deserve capital punishment.  (“The wages of sin is death,” Romans 3:23).

• She would want us to know that this deadly problem cannot be solved by being a good person or by promising God that we will try harder to be a better person.  (If that were true, then Jesus Christ died for nothing, Galatians 2:21.)

• Nor can this problem be solved by going to church … or by joining a church … or by being active in a church … or by following the religious rituals of a church.  (One does not become a Christian by acting like one, Ephesians 2:8-9.)

• She would want us to know that there is only one way to satisfy the justice of the righteous One we have all offended by our moral crimes; and that one way is death …

• that someone must pay this debt of death …

• and until someone does, you and I will remain on God’s death row, under His just condemnation …

• which explains why the Father sent His Son to be impaled to a Roman cross.

We call that day of His death “Good Friday”; and we do so for a good reason, for it is the day when our debt of death was paid in full.  As a result of that Execution, each of us can now be pardoned from our deserved sentence of eternal death …

• forgiven of all our sins:  past, present, and future …

• cleansed – fully and forever – by the blood of the Savior …

• clothed with the righteous robes of the King of kings …

• and confident that, as with the triumphant Son of God, we, too, will be resurrected by the power of almighty God unto eternal life.

Yes, it is true:  Mary Neil Puryear Wise was a woman of dignity and honor … a loving wife and mother, a helpful friend and a responsible citizen.  But let there be no mistake.  If she could stand before us right now, if we could somehow summon her out of eternity and ask her, “What is the one thing you want us all to know?” she would direct our attention away from herself.  She would, instead, laser beam our focus on

“the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world”

The One Who, on that Good … that Excellent … that Magnificent Friday afternoon,

died for us … in our place … as our Substitute … so we wouldn’t have to.

The One Who was, on that Joyous … that Glorious … that Breathtaking Sunday morning,

raised from death to everlasting life … so that we could be, too.

A “Good Friday”!  What an understatement!  It is a Priceless Friday, promising a priceless Deliverance to all who turn away from their lawless deeds and cling, by faith, to the finished work of the resurrected Son of God!  No deed is good enough for anyone to earn it.  No sin is too great to exclude anyone from it.  His invitation is offered to us all:

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”                 (Matthew 11:28)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.  (Romans 5:8-9)

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