Good Friday and 16.5 (14.5)

If any of you has been following my Facebook (which, considering you're reading this, you probably have been), you know that the past five weeks have been the CrossFit Open. Today was the last workout of the open and it was a repeat from the last workout two years ago. It felt awful then, and it felt awful this morning. In fact, I'm pretty sure I died during my last round.

Actually, I didn't die, because by typing this, it would mean that I would have to have risen from the dead. And you know what...

JESUS DID! Y'all, it's Easter weekend, which means Sunday we get to celebrate Christ's victory over death and Satan!

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 1 Corinthians 15:55

A friend of mine posted that our suffering during the workout was nothing compared to the suffering of Christ on the Cross, and I was so eager to skip that part and focus on the resurrection, but you know what? We can't do that. The resurrection provides the victory but we can't have the resurrection without the suffering

We can't have Resurrection Sunday without Good Friday. We can't declare victory before the suffering. 

As I was thinking about the comparison, I realized that Christ suffered alone. He asked his friends to remain awake and pray, and they fell asleep. Peter denied even knowing Him 3 times. His friends weren't there to tell Him it was going to be ok, and on the cross, His own Father turned his back (Mark 15:34). The only reason I made it through the last round of my workout this morning is because everyone in the gym was screaming for me. I love my CrossFit community. But at Christ's darkest hour, he was alone.

I am so thankful for Resurrection Sunday, that this story bring hope and victory. I am also so thankful for Good Friday--that Christ suffered, bled, and died that I might have the right to stand before the throne of God and say "I am a child of God."