One of the most significant cries in all of history is when Jesus, hanging on the cross, received a drink of cheap wine and then cried out these words ‘it is finished’ (John 19:30)

This short sentence, ‘It is finished’ is, in the original Greek language just one word – “Tetelestai“.

Charles Spurgeon once said of this word that:

“It would need all the other words that were ever spoken or ever can be spoken to explain this one word, it is altogether immeasurable, it is high, I cannot attain to it, it is deep, I cannot fathom it.”

Christ’s glorious redemptive work was finished on the cross and yet we can have a tendency to try and add to His finished work.

Sometimes you can add something and make that something more attractive, other times when you add, it makes something already attractive ugly, like adding another nose to an already attractive face.  When we try and add to the work of Christ it becomes ugly.  In fact, when the Galatians did just that, Paul became very upset (see Galatians 1:6-9 and Galatians 3:1-6).

Phil Ryken in his book, “The Heart of the Cross” writes:

“To add to the finished work of Jesus Christ is to disfigure it, mar it, and destroy it altogether. There is nothing you can contribute to the payment that Jesus made on the cross for sin. There is no penance that you can undergo, no good work that you can perform, no pilgrimage upon which you can embark, no punishment you can endure to clear your guilt before God. When Jesus said ‘it is finished,’ he meant it. He meant that he had completely paid the price to release his people from their bondage to sin. So for you to try to pay for your own sins is to deny that Jesus really did finish paying for sin. For you to try to do something to earn your own salvation is to make Jesus Christ out to be a liar.”

The finished work of Jesus should provoke gratitude, joy and much affection in our hearts and lives.  If it doesn’t, I would encourage you to stay at the cross, and forget about anything else until you become, as the hymn writer, says ‘lost in wonder love and praise.’

Where do we look for our joy?  Is it in the experiences of life, or the entertaining gadgets that can so occupy our time and attention?  Or is it our service for God?  Or even in the search and the experience of  the gifts of the Holy Spirit?

Scripture teaches us that we should not look to find our joy essentially in things we do or experience, but to find our joy in Christ and his redemptive work.

Luke 10:17-20
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

What a joy it is to know our sins forgiven and our eternal destiny with God secured and sealed by the Holy Spirit, let us not look to find our joy in new things and new experiences but by maintaining our gaze on the ‘old old story’.

Jerry Bridges writes:
The work of Christ is finished. Nothing more remains to be done. God’s wrath has been propitiated. Our sins have been removed. The question is, will we appreciate it, not only at our initial moment of salvation, but for our day-to-day acceptance with god? It is only as we do the latter that we will truly begin to appreciate the glory of the cross and the unsearchable riches of Christ.

We live in a society and culture that delights in complaining, the media seems to concentrate on the negative things that are taking place in our world.

The comedian Jack Dee makes a living out of looking miserable and complaining about everything.

We complain when it’s raining and we complain when it’s hot.

The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Famous Bible commentator Matthew Henry, after being robbed, once wrote this in his diary:

“Let me be thankful……
First, because I was never robbed before.
Second, because although they took my wallet they did not take my life.
Third, because although they took my all, it was not much.
Fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”

I believe God wants us to live in “Joyful Gratitude“; and we can only do this when we understand and focus on what Christ has done for us in saving us and giving us the promise of eternal life.

William Law, in his “Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life” writes:

“Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world?  It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms, or is most eminent for temperance, chastity, or justice, but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God willeth, who received everything as an instance of God’s goodness, and has a heart always ready to praise God for it.”