It Is Finished

It Is Finished – In the Greek “Tetelestai” – the last words of Jesus on the cross.
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. —John 19: 30
When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” it was not a cry of defeat but of glorious victory. Through the cross, Jesus defeated Satan’s power to enslave man, to destroy man, and to separate man from God. Through the cross, Jesus made a way for man to approach God and to live in fellowship with God once again.
We have been given the power to live the life God wants us to live. We have been given the power to be like Him—to be restored to the image of God. That is God’s desire and purpose for your life.
**The powerful grip that sin once held over you, over me, has been broken.
God wants to restore that which was lost in the garden of Eden. To that end, God’s Spirit works in our lives day by day, conforming us, molding us, shaping us back into God’s ultimate intention for man, that we might live in fellowship with God and reflect His love and grace and kindness and mercy to this dark world in which we live. The barriers that once held us away from God have been removed. Now that the work of redemption is a finished work, we are able to live in fellowship with the Lord.
The work is over. It is finished. Jesus conquered sin, death, hell, and the grave. He conquered Satan. And as the result, we can now experience the great blessedness of living with and for our God.
*Are you experiencing a change? Are you more gracious and merciful to other people even if they wrong you? Could how you treat others be a tell tale sign of your own spiritual maturity?
Father, may we take full advantage of the time You have given us in this life to know You, to serve You, and to love You. Help us to treat others from your perspective of love, forgiveness, mercy and grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Exercise: Next time someone wrongs you or says something that upsets you. Give them the grace to grow and truly let it go. In the name of Jesus!