It Is Finished! Do You Believe It?
A daily action step for Holy Week
This is Holy Week where we journey from Holy Wednesday to Maundy Thursday to Good Friday. The days are meaningful for every follower of Jesus.
Everything this week builds to one defining moment. One breathtaking notch in time. It took only a few seconds, but it shattered a millennia of bondage. In this moment that was both in time and transcends all time, Jesus utters three words. Three words that changed the history of humanity. Three words that overturned the stranglehold of fear, evil and death that has reigned since the world began. Three words that opened the door of the kingdom of God to every man, woman and child that has ever lived and will ever live. Three words. Three simple, earth shaking words.
It is Finished.
Even though we know the story well, it would be a good discipline for us to ask, ‘what is finished?’ Why are these three words the starting point for every believer’s journey? Why must it start here for us, if it is to start at all?
We could use some wonderful theological language here to answer that question, or unpack a host of Old and New Testament passages to shed light on the response. But in this short blog I want to look in another direction.
I want to challenge you to ask yourself what these words mean to you. These are profoundly personal words. Jesus uttered these words for us…for you! Through them He offers us nothing less than total freedom from everything that has held us in bondage.
So let me ask you, personally, today, can you affirm these truths?
- I used to have fear in my life, but…it is finished!
- I used to struggle with anxiety that kept me from knowing God’s peace, but…it is finished!
- I used to harbor sin that I could not shake, but…it is finished!
- I used to be discouraged, but…it is finished!
- I used to be puffed up with pride that kept me from surrendering my life to Christ, but…it is finished!
- I used to carry guilt from past failures, but…it is finished!
- I used to hang on to anger that haunted me, but…it is finished!
- I used to live in pain from the sins of the past, but…it is finished!
- I used to let bitterness eat away at me constantly, but…it is finished!
- I used to be lost in my grief that threatened to overwhelm me, but…it is finished!
- I once had lost hope that wore me down like a chain around my neck, but…it is finished!
The list can go on and on. The truth is, all of it, every bit if it for all of us for all time and eternity, is finished! Jesus came to set us free from everything that would rob us of the abundant life He promised. These three words are our declaration of freedom. In Christ, the old has gone and the new has come, and life was never meant to be the same again.
The question is, do we believe it? Is that freedom, that joy and that new life the reality we live each day? If not, let me leave you with one way to proceed through this Holy Week. One action that may help you claim that freedom for yourself.
Each morning through Easter, start your day by looking at yourself in the mirror and saying to yourself the refrain from this wonderful song:
I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God
Say it over and over. Let the twofold truth of this verse seep into your soul. Because it was the Son of God who proclaimed ‘It is finished’, we are no longer slaves to fear. Because it was the incarnate Christ who said those words for us, we are a child of God.
Say it again and again.
I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God
Let that refrain resonate in your heart as the words of Jesus echo in your ears, and this will truly be for you a most Holy Week.
