{"id":20,"date":"2013-08-10T05:41:00","date_gmt":"2013-08-10T05:41:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2018-09-09T02:44:15","modified_gmt":"2018-09-09T02:44:15","slug":"it-is-finished","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.melton.space\/pharisee\/index.php\/2013\/08\/10\/it-is-finished\/","title":{"rendered":"\u03a4\u03b5\u03c4\u03ad\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9"},"content":{"rendered":"

John 19:30<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We\u2019ve just completed our latest insanity, a kitchen remodel. Several years ago, when we ripped off the back of our house and added a two-story addition, my wife found a cartoon of a man at the entrance to hell. The devil is showing him two doors, labeled \u201cEternal Fire and Brimstone\u201d and \u201cLiving through a remodel\u201d. The man says, \u201cIt\u2019s pretty much a toss up\u201d. That\u2019s how we feel about home renovations. Yet we keep doing them.<\/p>\n

This remodel has been particularly difficult. It\u2019s hard to imagine just how central your kitchen is to your home\u2019s functioning until yours is gutted and your basement looks like a bad garage sale, with dishes, pots and random food articles strewn about. My wife had grand visions of grilling out every day, or using the crock pot or the George Foreman grill. The reality is that we have been living off frozen dinners and delivered pizza for the past month.<\/p>\n

The disorientation of having people in your house, making messes and noises every day is hard to imagine. I\u2019m hopeful that my wife never wants to make another trip to Lowes, since she\u2019s been such a fixture there that they are about to give her a reserved parking spot. I think one day she went 3 times before noon. My poor dog knows he\u2019s supposed to bark at strangers, but isn\u2019t sure what a stranger is anymore.<\/p>\n

There were times when I wasn\u2019t sure my wife would be able to hold it together. From the days when no work was done (despite being told that someone would be there), to the things that weren\u2019t done right the first time, to the things that we were pretty sure should have been done sooner, it has been a challenge to remind myself that only the finished product matters. I think of the saying that \u201cpeople who love sausage and respect the law should never watch either one being made.\u201d I think home improvement projects might also fall into that category.<\/p>\n

Now the invasion is complete. The result is stunning, and more than we ever dreamed of. All of my wife\u2019s ambitions have been realized and both she and my daughter are eagerly awaiting many years of culinary conquests. Tomorrow I will give our contractor the final payment and we will close that chapter of our lives. When I posted the picture<\/a> of the completed kitchen on my Facebook page, my caption read, \u201cIt. Is. Finished.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as I reflect on the verse that inspired me, I realize there is so much more than just a pithy quote to conclude a monumental project. The Greek word translated \u201cit is finished\u201d speaks of a completion of accomplishment, or a fulfillment of purpose. Despite the cinematic portrayals of Christ on the cross gasping out each syllable, I rather suspect this this was a triumphal cry. Jesus wasn\u2019t just quietly marking the cessation of his suffering on the cross. He was celebrating the beginning of something new.<\/p>\n

In other words, when Jesus said \u201cit is finished\u201d, he basically said \u201cI\u2019ve done everything there is to do.\u201d He closed the door on all of his working. Just as in Genesis when God completed the work of creation and rested, in Hebrews it says, \u201cBut when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Historically, this word, or some abbreviation of it, was written across a bill that had been paid in full, indicating that no further obligation remained. In other words, Jesus wrote across the bill of our debt from sin \u201cit is finished\u201d (paid in full). I\u2019ve written it on my last check to the contractor.<\/p>\n

My family is very excited that this remodel is done, not just because it was a pain that we had to endure, but because the result is amazing. It is beautiful, and more functional than what we had before. It will bring joy to our lives and help us to entertain and fulfill the purposes we have for our house.<\/p>\n

So, when Jesus said, \u201cit is finished\u201d, he wasn\u2019t just declaring an end to his work and suffering. He was celebrating the result that is amazing. Because of his finished work, we now have the right to become sons of God; to be translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. It brings joy to God\u2019s heart for sinners to be redeemed, and to be able to walk in the purposes he has for them.<\/p>\n

One final thought. My contractor won\u2019t be working on my house tomorrow, because \u201cit is finished\u201d. Are you still trying to work your way into God\u2019s favor? It isn\u2019t necessary. It is finished.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.melton.space\/pharisee\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.melton.space\/pharisee\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.melton.space\/pharisee\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.melton.space\/pharisee\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.melton.space\/pharisee\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.melton.space\/pharisee\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.melton.space\/pharisee\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions\/169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.melton.space\/pharisee\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.melton.space\/pharisee\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.melton.space\/pharisee\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.melton.space\/pharisee\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}