Finished MEANS It IS DONE! … Hello Hump Day readers. As we approach Good Friday this year, the word “finished” keeps swirling in my mind—why? Because I have to admit that I can start a lot of things but often I don’t finish them. I suspect many of you probably fall in that category as well. Most likely, we all do in our stages of this life journey on planet earth.

Or, here’s another take on it: we think it is finished but it isn’t! Back to the drawing board, take it apart and start again, etc. So often we strive for the perfection we can never attain. The outcome is that so many things done well will never be finished because we perceive a non-perfection view despite the fact that we really don’t know what a perfect outcome really is!

No matter what “side” of finished you find yourself in, how many times have you stepped back, looked at it and said “nope, don’t like it.” In our minds we have this perfect image of what we’re up to but often those images are goals beyond our ability to fill…and that is, to me, the perfect picture of Good Friday.

Yes, that sounds somewhat cruel, but Good Friday was cruel—to the bitter end. The cruelty inflicted on Jesus who WAS perfect, is hard to comprehend. Many of us have watched some of the movies and I have to admit, I turn my face away with tears running down my cheeks as I see my beloved Savior’s torture and inexplicable suffering.

On the other hand, the ‘good’ of Good Friday is the end of all this, it is the FINISH—God’s finished work through Jesus on the cross and the ultimate promise of his resurrection and ours as well. Listen to these words that Max Lucado gave me permission to share with you. Take them in as you prepare yourself for the end of this Holy Week:

“The history—long plan of redeeming humanity—was finished. The message of God to us was finished. The works done by Jesus as a man on earth were finished—completely. The task of electing and training ambassadors was finished. The job was finished. The song had been sung. The blood had been poured out. The sacrifice had been made. The sting of death had been removed. It was over. It was FINISHED FOR ALL TIME.”

As I write this several weeks before Good Friday, I am reminded that I, too, am finished. Finished from fear, anger, confusion, comparison, worry…and that constant niggling in my mind that often makes me finish something and then un-finish it because I don’t think it is perfect yet. I will never be perfect in this world, but because of the perfection of Christ, I will be perfect in heaven for all eternity…which I need to remind myself every day.

So, let’s ask ourselves—those of you reading this” What project am I struggling with so much that I just can’t finish it? Why? What is keeping me back? What is niggling in my brain that has me so confused or wound up that I cannot finish the task and move forward? Let’s embrace another reminder of our Lord, in these powerful words of Scripture from Luke 9:51 using the Living Bible translation:

“As the time drew near for his return to heaven,
he moved steadily onward toward Jerusalem with an iron will.”

Did you see that – an IRON will?! Nothing was going to stop Jesus from finishing the work that was begun before the creation of the world! The powerful Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit have been involved from the beginning, knowing we would falter, knowing we would need help, knowing that only God could finish what we could not. All the “finishing” was worked out before one spit of creation happened…wow!!

So, let’s go back to those things unfinished, and—like Jesus—set our minds on finishing well. I don’t know what your projects may be, but there isn’t a single one of them that you cannot accomplish because the Lord of heaven and earth will be your strength to finish the task. And if that still doesn’t move you, look at the cross from these two perspectives:

1) An innocent and perfect man hung on that cross to his death to perfect you; and
2) That cross is now empty, no more death, because the King of all kings has risen and all is
now FINISHED for ALL PEOPLE for ALL TIME, AMEN!