Today is “Black Friday” in the United States. This day has nothing to do with race or discrimination; it is a financial term dealing with the bottom line. On Black Friday is when most businesses go from being “in the red” (losing money) to being in the black (making a profit).
Black Friday is also a direct and frontal attack upon the celebration of Thanksgiving. This precious holy day, is celebrated with a family dinner where everyone gathers around to give thanks to our God. What a beautiful and God-honoring tradition!
A few years ago, we could still celebrate Thanksgiving unhurriedly, but not anymore. You see, Black Friday actually started on Friday morning, but now it has gone from six a.m. on Friday morning, to Thursday at midnight and as of this year, to Thursday in the afternoon.
Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holy day, but it is an afterthought for many. Stores go from having Halloween displays to what they call Christmas (I call it Nativity) sales; bypassing Thanksgiving almost completely.
What if I tell you that we have it all wrong and backwards? In reality, Thanksgiving comes after “Black and Red Friday” and not the other way around. Now that I have you dazed and confused, allow me to explain what I mean.
Over 2,000 years ago, our Lord Jesus died on the cross. This event is celebrated or remembered on what is now called “Good Friday.” There is no consensus as far as the actual day of the crucifixion, as some teach that Jesus died on a Wednesday, while others assert that it was on the Friday before the Resurrection.
The main point, however, is that Jesus did die to atone for our sins and to satisfy the righteous anger of his Father. The exact day of the week is not really mentioned in the Bible, so for the purpose of this blog I will use Friday.
On “Black and Red Friday”, Jesus gave his life on the cross for us and because of that we can celebrate Thanksgiving, because now we have Someone to give thanks to: Our Lord, our God and our Savior.
That “Friday” was black, because it was the darkest day in human history. On that day, humanity crucified the Creator. The darkness was not only spiritual, but physical as well (Matthew 27:45)
That “Friday” was also red, for on that day, the precious blood of Jesus was shed for the people of God. The fact that you and I are saved today, is the direct result of having been washed in the cleansing, saving and forgiving blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5).
Alexander Gonzalez
