Finished part 2
It is finished. Perhaps the most powerful phrase ever uttered. The last words spoken before Jesus gave up the ghost. His dying declaration, if I can say it that way. And to me it goes right along with--hand in hand with--the other incredibly powerful thing He said on the cross. "Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots" (Luke 23:34). Father, forgive them. It is finished. Which is to say... we are forgiven. Which is to say, we don't need to keep punishing ourselves (or each other) for things that have happened. God has forgiven us. We can, and should, and ought to, forgive ourselves. And each other. And, by the way, while I think Jesus was saying "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" about all of humanity just about all of the time... He was also saying it about the people who were physically, literally nailing Him to a cross. After beating Him. And jamming a crown of thorns on His head. With the intention of killing Him. I'm not going to get into it right now, but this does seem like a good place to say that, for the record, nobody killed Jesus. He IS life. Nobody COULD kill Him. He gave up the ghost. He sacrificed Himself. Laid His life down for His friends. As the greatest expression of love that a man can have. But I digress. For tonight I want to focus on forgiveness. And how important it is to know that you are forgiven. How important it is that the forgiveness... is finished. We don't have to beg for it, or work for it. God never wanted us to suffer. He's not some kid with a magnifying glass using the power of the sun to burn ants. He's not in the business of torturing people. He created us so that He could express His love--Himself--to us. And in us, and through us, and as us. He didn't want us to have that guilty conscience always holding us back. So He washed us with His Word (which is Jesus, which is love), and He forgave us our sins. In fact TOOK AWAY the sin (unbelief) of the world. He didn't want us to have to deal with it, so He dealt with it. Done deal. It is finished. Because, really, do you think Jesus asked His heavenly Father for forgiveness for us... and God denied His Son's request? I don't think that's what happened at all. I think God spoke through Jesus. They were of one mind. Jesus literally said, "I and my Father are One." It wasn't Jesus throwing a hail Mary... wishing and hoping. It was Jesus expressing His Father's heart. God is in the forgiving business, not the torturing business. You don't need forgiveness. You have forgiveness. You ARE forgiven. So you can lay aside the sin (again, unbelief) and the weight that so easily besets you, and you can run the race that is set before you. You can be who you are meant to be instead of letting every mistake, and bad decision, and... whatever hold you back and knock you down. Jesus can, and will, and does, keep us from falling. Because He wants us to stand. Because He wants us to walk. And run. And jump. And dance. He wants us to enjoy this life we've been given. So He smashed those chains that were binding us. He set us free 2000 years ago on an old rugged cross!