It’s officially the start of baseball season, which is always one of my favorite times of the year. For many years I entered each season hoping against hope, as I’ve been a Cubs fan all my life. The old Cubbie phrase “hope springs eternal” was my Facebook status for many years, as I hoped against hope for a Cubbie World Series. Yet, a couple of years ago they FINALLY ended their drought and won the World Series. For me, all the years of waiting and suffering were over once and for all when they carried that trophy off the field.
As we continue our series on the final days of Jesus we look at Jesus declaring “it is finished.”
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30
When Jesus uttered these words he was not only saying his life was over, but that sin and death were defeated once and for all. Because of the work Jesus did on the cross we have the perfect hope of eternal life, a hope that no one can take away from us.
- Hope really does spring eternal: I used to live on a lake in Wisconsin, and every winter the frigid temperatures froze the lake nearly solid. All except one small section near our house. That’s because a small spring fed into the lake there, and between its warmer water and constant movement that small section never froze. No matter what happens in our lives, disease, economic collapse, depression, the death of loved ones, etc. our lives never freeze completely over. Even in the most wretched of circumstances God’s hope is constantly bubbling up in our lives. What is that hope? The promise that He made to us—eternal life 1 John 2:25. It is the GUARANTEE we have of eternal life in a perfect heaven. No matter what goes wrong in our lives (and trust me, plenty of things will) no one can ever take away the guarantee of eternal life we have because of the sacrificial death of Jesus on the Cross. As long as we confess our sins and believe in Him the ultimate reward is already on reserve for us.
- We need to celebrate eternal life daily: Not to be mean, but it’s kinda sad that the greatest joy I’ve ever witnessed in others is due to the outcome of a baseball game. Let’s be honest: we take God’s grace for granted. We sit around and bemoan our situation in life, and we forget to celebrate daily the reality that we’ve been saved for all eternity. Here’s what Paul tells us in Romans 5:1-2: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Let’s take time EVERY day to praise God for what He has done for us, and to let the gift of God’s grace flood over us.
