And what a price it was!  That is how far our Saviour has gone to meet us.  How far do we go to meet him?  Good Friday makes it plain that our response to the Saviour’s generosity must aim at being as generous.  It can never reach the sublime height of his generosity, but nevertheless on its own level it must be open-handed and unswerving.  Early in his ministry he had said to his disciples, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work” (RSV, John 4:34, our emphasis) – the work of the salvation of mankind.  And to that end he dedicated his whole self until at last he could proclaim triumphantly from the Cross, “It is accomplished” (Jerusalem Bible, John 19:30, our emphasis).

That utter devotion of Christ to his Father in not just an ideal for us to admire but not attempt; it is not an optional extra in the life of the Christian.  Rather, in its own degree, it is what marks off the inwardly dedicated Christian from the nominal one.