The Cost of My Love & Purpose – At Calvary – Purity 1928
Purity 1928 04/03/2026 Purity 1928 Audio Podcast
Purity 1928 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of an unknown “school of Rembrandt” artist’s oil and on canvas, “The Crucifixion” (1600’s) comes to us from yours truly as I captured this work of art during my visit to the Springfield Museums back on December 9th, 2023.
Well, it’s Good Friday, and I share this somber work of art as part of my Lenten journey to recognize beauty in the things of the past and to remember that the light of freedom that has shone into my life through my faith in Jesus Christ has come at a great price.
Today, my wife, TammyLyn, and I plan on going to a Good Friday service at a church in Saratoga to remember the sacrifice of Jesus, a sacrifice that would ripple out over time to result in our salvation and eventually into our marriage. If it wasn’t for Jesus, I would never have been in a place to ever meet TammyLyn, for it is only because of Him that I got clean and sober in 2015 and received a passion for sharing my faith and teaching others what I have learned about living with and for God. I don’t only owe my salvation and sobriety to Jesus Christ; I have received my purpose for living and the love of my life.
As much as I try to stress the joy and peace that we receive when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, I believe it is important to remember the cost that Jesus paid for our new lives at Calvary.
Speaking of Calvary, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotional for today reflects on Good Friday, and I am sharing it on the blog to encourage us to remember the seriousness of our sins and what was given on our behalf so we could be free. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“At Calvary
At the cross, Jesus willingly demonstrated His great love for us by dying in our place.
Hebrews 10:10-14
If asked what took place on Good Friday, many people could list the events that unfolded at Calvary—Christ was nailed to the cross, Roman soldiers gambled for His garments, and darkness covered the land. But far more was going on than the eye could see: At the cross, sin was judged.
In the garden of Eden, God warned that disobedience carried a severe penalty (Genesis 2:17). So from the start, His judgment of sin was prophesied, and later it was also pictured in the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. Under that system, each transgression required an animal’s blood to be sprinkled on the altar. The severity of the penalty—loss of a life—was a graphic way for our holy God to communicate how offensive and grievous sin is. It was a foreshadowing of the Lamb of God, who would come to pay for the sin of the world (John 1:29).
On the cross, Jesus Christ was what a lamb was on the altar—but with a significant difference: Under the old covenant, every time sin was committed, another animal had to die. Jesus, however, willingly offered Himself once for all to atone for the sin of the whole world (Hebrews 7:27).
If you haven’t yet received this amazing free gift, won’t you do so now? And let’s all thank our Savior for it.” – Charles Stanley
Amen. As much as I would like to rush to the joy of the Resurrection, it is important to remember where we came from and how it is that we were able to be forgiven and set free.
Good Friday services are a solemn affair because the aim is to remember the cost of our deliverance and the harsh realities of sin, punishment, death, and a great injustice.
Jesus was the perfect embodiment of love and grace. He sought to do the will of God the Father, whose great love for us caused Him to live among us and to fashion a way for wicked men to be saved.
Sin deserves punishment, so Jesus, being Infinite in His divine nature, took upon Himself the punishment of sin for all mankind. The punishment that we deserve falls on Christ. When we put our faith in Jesus, we are forgiven for all the evil we have ever done. We are set free only because Jesus died for us.
His sufferings and death were for our sin and for our salvation. Today, we should consider the seriousness of our sin and the great cost that was paid on our behalf.
We didn’t deserve to be forgiven. We don’t deserve the freedom we now enjoy. We didn’t deserve eternal life. But God’s love for us causes Jesus to die so we should live.
While we should rejoice because of the blessings we have received, we should never forget the cost that was paid to save us and set us free, and we should show our appreciation for what was done for us by living a life that reflects the love that God gave to us.
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