Strange Kingdom - Meditations On The Crossনমুনা

It is finished!” says Jesus. He says it’s complete. It’s done. It’s not about you being good. It’s about God being good. His love will always surpass our love. We are reassured beyond doubt and for all time. What power is in those three simple words, and the power of “It is finished.” 

To me, this is such a relief. As I think about all the competing demands for my time and attention, all my mixed motivations, my dreams and desires, if I heard Jesus say to me, “Make yourself worthy of my sacrifice; earn it,” that would slowly crush me. I would struggle under the weight of it. But if I wake up and spend time in his presence daily and hear him say on the cross, “It is finished,” then that frees me from trying to earn his approval, trying to earn his love, and instead I can respond with thankfulness, because his love is the greatest motivator I can ever imagine. 

Or maybe you have come to a point in your life when you feel that it is finished, or even that you are finished. The end of a relationship, the end of a job or a career, the end of a phase or a stage or a season of your life— none of these is the end of you. That part of the process and of your life may be finished. But it doesn’t mean that you are finished. 

We must remind ourselves that the cross has already determined the fate of these forces of evil. We may not see it immediately, but ultimately good will triumph. Piece by piece, in myriad individual struggles against difficult circumstances, the right side wins. The final triumph may arrive on the back of the countless small battles fought day-to-day by those who trust in the blood of Jesus Christ, as they work to see Christ’s kingdom come in their own lives and in the lives of people they meet. 

Let the words it is finished fill our minds and hearts as we face our battles, and hold tight, for whether in this life or in the next, the dawn of the Resurrection Day will come. It is finished. It’s done. It’s time to go from partly living to fully living. In him. With him. For him. Hold tight. Trust God. Be hopeful. 

Prayer:
Lord, thank you that we don’t have to earn it. Thank you that what you did is complete. Thank you for offering us through the cross a bridge to a new life - life in all its fullness. I’m ready for it. Thank you for always being ready for me, amen.