Why do we call "Good Friday" good?

Good Friday is one of our most solemn days in the lives of believers. Since I was an adult and studied the events that took place in the life of Jesus that day, I had a difficult time reconciling what we call the day; “Good Friday”. How could I even utter the words, to call this day “good”? How could anyone who understands what transpired on this day? Jesus Christ, the Son of God, bore unspeakable pain. There was physical pain and torture, so much so, that many of us still find it very difficult to read. Yet, there was more, there was humiliation; the way He was treated, even the sign placed on the cross, Jesus, of Nazareth, King of the Jews, was meant to show that he was a lowly person from Nazareth and to insult Him and all Jews, when they indicated he was their “King”. However horrible the insults and the long, excruciating, physical pain, the part that touches me the most is when He cried out, “my God, why have You forsaken Me?”. How many of us have felt forsaken at some point in our lives? Was the pain that we felt more difficult to bear when it was someone we loved that we felt had forsaken us? I believe so. I also believe that there is a special significance and pain when one is thought to be forsaken by their heavenly Father; it may be the lowest feeling on this earth. However much we can identify with Jesus’ pain of being forsaken we instinctively know that we can only imagine it in a very small way, His suffering was much greater than ours could ever be. Good?, how can we call such a day “good”. This day was so horrible that even the sun refused to shine. So how do we find the “Good”, in “Good Friday”? There are several things that I have learned over the years. First, Jesus laid down His life willingly. It is “good” that He really did have a choice and made that choice because of the love he had for us. Over and over again in the scriptures, we see how He refused to defend himself, because He understood the Father’s plan of redemption. This is illustrated over and over even at the point of death, He first lowered His head (an act of submission) and then He “gave up His Spirit”. He made a choice to submit. It was a “good” for us that He made that choice. Secondly, He did many ‘good” things even during this time of pain. Showing us a great example for even times when we suffer. His actions caused people to say, “Surely, He was the Son of God”. These actions included the kindness to the two thieves and the concern that He had for His Mother, in making sure that John, the beloved, would care for Her. Many more, seemingly small details show His love and care, even when He was being crucified. Without the public crucifixion, people would not have known what happened, they would not have seen Jesus’ love displayed. We would not have His awesome example of His kindness during His suffering. It would not have been recorded for us to read thousands of years later. Most importantly though, this day was “Good” because of the eternal results of this day. Not only did people believe that day but because of Jesus’ obedience, because of His suffering, salvation was brought to mankind. Without this day, even with all its horror, there would not have been a resurrection day. It is this, that makes “Good Friday” good. The most horrible day in the history of the world was made “good”, because Jesus’ choice to submit, enabled us to have eternal salvation. How could we ever thank God enough? On this “Good Friday”, perhaps we could consider the cost and even more, consider the “good”, the victory, that happens when we choose to lay down our lives for others. I believe that if we ask, we will be guided how to do this in many areas. It may seem like a small response to the work that Jesus did on the cross, but still I am sure our Father would be pleased. Thank you Jesus, for making “Good Friday”, good.