Stay Here
At the Cross
April 3 — Good Friday | Discipleship at the Center
Today, there is no movement forward.
No resolution.
No explanation that satisfies.
No reframing that makes this easier to hold.
Just a cross.
And an invitation:
Stay.
1. We Are Tempted to Move Too Quickly
We know what comes next.
We know the story doesn’t end here.
And because we know that, we are tempted to rush past this moment.
To soften it.
To explain it.
To move toward Sunday.
But Good Friday resists that instinct.
It asks us to remain here.
2. The Cross Is Not Efficient
Nothing about today makes sense in terms of power.
No control.
No protection.
No visible victory.
Everything appears:
- unjust
- unresolved
- final
And yet, this is the center of the story.
Not the miracle.
Not the teaching.
Not the crowd.
The cross.
3. This Is What Love Looks Like
Not abstract love.
Not sentimental love.
Costly love.
Love that:
- absorbs injustice
- carries suffering
- refuses retaliation
- gives without return
- remains when leaving would be easier
This is not theory.
This is the shape of love.
4. We Are Not Asked to Understand
There are questions here that cannot be resolved today.
Why this way?
Why this cost?
Why this suffering?
Good Friday does not answer every question.
It reveals something deeper:
God does not stand distant from suffering.
He enters it.
5. The Discipleship of Staying
Most people left.
Some stayed.
Not because they understood.
But because they loved.
Discipleship today is not about clarity.
It is about presence.
To remain:
- when it is uncomfortable
- when it is unresolved
- when it is heavy
- when it is quiet
6. A Practice for Today
Do not rush.
Take one moment today to be still.
No multitasking.
No explanation.
No forward movement.
And simply pray:
“Jesus, I am here.”
That is enough.
The Invitation
Good Friday does not ask you to fix anything.
It does not ask you to understand everything.
It asks you to remain.
To stand at the cross.
To see love in its most costly form.
To let it speak without interruption.
There will be time for resurrection.
But not today.
Today:
Stay.