This coming Friday on the Christian calendar is what is called Good Friday. Many people wonder why it is called Good Friday, since it commemorates Jesus’s death on the cross. Yet the crucifixion is the greatest act of love in all of human history. It represents the fullness and the culmination of God’s plan to redeem humanity through Jesus’s sacrifice. It is important that we all recognize the God of the universe’s willingness to suffer and die in such an incredible demonstration of divine mercy and compassion.

The events of Good Friday are a powerful reminder, not just of God’s love, but the depth of his love for us personally. The cross, in one sense, tells us that God has not just given us words and theories about pain and suffering, He has given us Himself as a horrific sacrifice. In doing so it offers proof that God cares about our eternal destiny.

Have you ever had someone make a sacrifice for you that cost them greatly but was of great benefit to you? Author Susan Schaeffer Macaulay tells a story that had a significant impact on her life.

When I was four years old, my parents had a lovely antique table, on which the telephone rested. One day I threw a temper tantrum so violent that I tried to think of a desperate act to express my irritation. I took a wicked and forbidden object, a kitchen knife, and with fierce determination, hit this small table repeatedly, leaving deep gashes in the antique wood.

The inevitable result descended at suppertime. I guess my poor mama had been too rushed to see the table, but dad soon noticed.

“WHO DID THIS?” he boomed.

No use cowering. My guilt was established. Suddenly there was an unexpected turn of events. Eight-year-old Priscilla felt compassion for her now submissive small sister.

“Dad,” Priscilla said, “I want to take Susan’s spanking this time.”

The whole family was thunderstruck by the offer. I was provided with a lifelong lesson when, after some anxious consultation, my parents reluctantly concluded that it was a fair offer.

I’ll never forget the spanking my sister took for me. The knife gashes had been paid for by somebody else’s love for me.

Though she was only four years old, this made a lasting impact on Macaulay and helped her fully understand and appreciate what Jesus did on the cross for her.

Richard E Simmons III is the founder and Executive Director of The Center for Executive Leadership and a best-selling author.