It is FINISHED!

Today is a great opportunity for great reflection about what Easter means. If you ask a toddler, they may answer, “Easter egg hunting.” If you ask a teenager, they may say, “3 day weekend.” Some may say, “It’s when Lent ends.” Others may say, “A time with family and friends.” If you ask a believer, they may answer something like this, “Easter is a celebration of the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

All of these answers hold truth, but it is on the last one we can truly reflect:

Easter is not about doing something; it is about receiving something that was already done… And that something is the gift of salvation—wrapped in love, tied with ribbon of hope, filled with peace and joy unspeakable, and one that lasts through eternity.

When someone offers a gift, it means that they are giving something that is already paid for. Whether they purchased it themselves or not, there is nothing required of the recipient other than to receive it. There is no obligation on the recipient’s part to compensate the giver. It is already taken care of. There is no debt.

How would you feel if you bought someone something and the recipient just brushed it off and said, “No, I’m good. No, thank you.” Or, how would it go over if the recipient INSISTED that they pay for the gift. Both of these involve rejection, and certainly the latter one involves disbelief about their ability to merely receive a gift.

Jesus said these words, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish and have everlasting lift” (John 3:16). And "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).

All He is asking of us is that we believe that our sin-debt is cancelled so that we can experience the deeply loving, intimate, and personal relationship for eternity He desires to have with ALL of us. Our sins are forgiven because He took our place. When He proclaimed, “It is FINISHED.” on the cross (John 19:30), the Greek word for this is “tetelestai” which not only means “completion of a task in its entirety,” it also was a transactional business and accounting word used at that time meaning that whatever debt that had been owed was paid in full.

The words, “It is Finished” are true for all of us—every single person on this earth. Our debt was paid. We do not have to suffer the death (which means eternal separation from God) that is rightly ours! Our only requirement is that with our free will we receive the gift that was bought with the precious expense of the blood of our innocent Lord and Savior. It means that Jesus died so that we are free to walk around without the baggage this world throws at us. It means that though "the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy,” Jesus died so we may “have life and live life abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Through His great, faithful, caring, jealous, and steadfast love, we are free to live and love at the Kingdom level, where we are to operate out of the abundance of heaven as CITIZENS of Heaven and HEIRS to the Kingdom of God. EVERYTHING in God’s Kingdom is available to us, and therefore it is our right to take hold of whatever it is that is needed: healing, intimacy with God, peace, tangible presence, financial support, emotional stability. What do you need today? WHATEVER it is, Jesus came so you can have it—and have it in abundance.

Jesus’s "Do you believe this?” question holds true for us today. If so, while we are still here on this earth, our belief is to be LIVED and LOVED out, and to be SHARED as a testimony of His great sacrifice with others so they too may also know and believe. His “It is finished” is our opportunity to be finished with walking in the ways of the world (in our thoughts, beliefs, and actions) and walk in the identity and abundance of His Kingdom, as HIS Divinely Appointed Kingdom Coaches.

Blessings to you today and always!

Happy "LIFE in our Risen Savior" Day!