Every Day a Good Friday
Joel Osteen is arguably the leading motivational speaker of the day. He not only fills venues throughout the nation as he tours, but every Sunday thousands pack in to hear him in San Antonio with countless television viewers tuning in throughout the week. Best-selling books have also added to his appeal. His prominence causes him to be regularly featured in television interviews and other appearances.
Osteen’s latest best-selling motivational book is “Every Day a Friday,” in which he encourages each person to live each day with the joy that is often exhibited on Fridays, heading into the weekend. A single word can make a huge difference. Hence, I suggest that Osteen’s encouragement may be transformed into an exhortation with Biblical foundation. “Every Day a Good Friday.” That is the way of Biblical theology.
Grounding our lives in the events of Good Friday is exactly what Christ calls upon Christians to do. Speaking through His apostle Paul in Romans 6, Christ calls Christians to live in the reality of their baptism into Christ. In Baptism, Christ’s Good Friday death is made to be our own. Holy Baptism also unites us in Christ’s resurrection, granting us victory over sin and death, assuring us of our own resurrection at Christ’s return. When Christians live in accord with Romans 6 so that “Every Day a Good Friday,” we live our lives grounded in the grace of God which is in Christ and which leads us into everlasting life.
And so, tomorrow and every day, I shall arise in the morning, make the sign of the cross and say, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” for every day is a Good Friday as we await the resurrection of the Last Day.
Good analysis (no pun intended). I think Osteen’s theology is one of the more dangerous threats to genuine Christianity in our context today, given his immense popularity and the shiny attractiveness of his message.It’s also dangerous when one’s life experiences lays Osteen’s message bare as the lie that it is. When one is suffering, mired in sin, or touched by death, Osteen offers none of the Gospel’s comfort in Jesus. That comfort can only come from Christ’s passion, as you bring forth in this post.
Maybe in lieu of “How To Be Happier 7 Days A Week,” your subtitle can be “How To Properly Discern Worldly Happiness And Eternal Joy.”