It is finished

Have you ever left anything unfinished?

 

I have.

 

A half read book.  An abandoned diet.  Phone calls never returned. 

 

But it can be more serious than that:  The abandoned child.  The wrecked marriage.  The bills never paid.  The promises never kept.

 

There is one person in history who did not leave any unfished business.  His name is Jesus. 

 

Jesus could say with accuracy, "I have finished everything I set out to do."

 

As Jesus passed from this life to the next, he cried out (actually the Greek implies he roared out), "It is finished!"

 

Jesus is implying, "I did exactly what I set out to do!"

 

The verb is in the perfect tense in the Greek which simply speaks of an action which has been completed in the past with results continuing into the present. 

 

In other words, Jesus is saying, "What I did still has a present effect on your life today  - in 2015!"

 

"It is finished in the past, it is still finished in the present and it will remain finished in the future."

 

So - "It is finished" is not a cry of "giving up out of exhaustion," but it is a cry of victory!

 

It is finished!  It is paid in full!

 

"Paid in full" means that once a thing is paid for,  you never have to pay for it again.

 

That also is a powerful truth from this one word.

 

As you come to God and confess anger, it is finished - it is paid in full.  You are forgiven.

 

As you come to God and confess gossip, it is finished - it is paid in full.  You are forgiven.

 

As you come to God and confess lying, it is finished - it is paid in full.  You are forgiven.

 

As you come to God and confess pride, it is finished - it is paid in full.  You are forgiven. 

 

The work of salvation is now complete. 

 

Since it is finished, all that you have to do, all that I have to do (after confession) is to accept the forgiveness that God freely gives us.

 

Just a thought for a Thursday.