It is finished- A dimension of
achievement orientation
Dear friends, well-wishers and
loved ones of Edward David our dear father and brother, as a family we are
overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, affection and grief at the passing to
glory of our dear father.
While we are in grief at dad
not being with us, he has taught us to celebrate life and viewed death as the
threshold of eternity. I would like to share our journey over the past few
weeks, which would give you all a picture of what my dear father experienced
and his response to the same. I have chosen for our meditation an apt passage
and the words of Jesus. ‘It is finished’ is Jesus' sixth word from the cross.
Jesus’ first five words from the cross addressed all his key stakeholders
namely:
* Enemies and the world at large.
* Neighbors and those in need.
* Family.
* God.
* And in the fifth word His own need.
Now we come to the sixth word
where Jesus addresses his task and mission. Jesus’ task is to save people and
to love them; having done that since His birth, “It is finished” is a word of
accomplishment. It is not a word of defeat but a word of victory and
affirmation. I would like us to understand this from two perspectives.
A. The pre-requisites
B. The positions.
The pre-requisites are just
three aspects.
Vision: An understanding that our life on earth is
transitory - it is only for a period of about 80 to 90 years or less. This is
an important understanding, as we need to have a vision and glimpse of heaven
while living on earth. Therefore we have a task to accomplish while on earth.
Ludwig Van Beethoven the famous
music composer became deaf at the age of 28. In the last ten years of his life
he could hear nothing, but he went on to create masterpieces in music. His last
words when he died at age 56 were, “I shall hear music in heaven,” which
indicates that he went about his task because he had a vision that he will be
able to hear music in heaven. My dad shared with us that he had a burden for
the flesh trade in the world, and he prayed that the mountain of flesh trade be
thrown into the sea. He had a vision that these girls would be his daughters in
heaven. It would be wonderful if each of us prays that this vision be realized.
Task Clarity: For us who know that Jesus is our Savior, we need to
fulfill God’s purpose and will in our lives. In fact very often at every Sunday
worship we pray, “Thy will be done” from Mathew 6:10. To know the will of God,
St. Paul tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.” - Romans
12:2. To make this prayer a reality in our lives, we need to have an understanding
of the task at hand and then go about doing it.
Execution: With clarity of task, the next step is execution –
this is simply being obedient to God’s will. We not only need to do the big
tasks, but also the little and even the not so interesting tasks! Sometimes we
tend to get so distracted by our worldly pursuits, that we need simple actions
like prayer and Bible reading to steer us back in the right direction. For this
we have an assurance in Colossians 1:9-10, “We continually ask God to fill you
with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that
the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him
in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of
God.”
A few years ago dad shared with
me a newspaper clipping with great emotion. It said there was relief for the
gold miners in Kolar Gold Fields …. then he showed me his prayer request for
the same miners made 6 months earlier. He was overwhelmed that God had heard a
humble man’s prayers, which only encouraged him to press on. No issue was too
small for dad. He prayed for the nurses, doctors, prayer books … anything that
came to his attention.
It is only when we put effort
and work, can there be achievement and we can say, “It is finished,” to a task.
We also need to say “It is finished” to finish our tasks and move on to more
challenging tasks/ assignments.
Having discussed the
prerequisites lets us now look at Positions which a person may take.
Jesus spoke the words “It is finished”
on the cross. At Calvary I have noticed that there are three positions taken.
I am finished: The thief on the left could only picture his
physical survival hence he said, “Save yourself and save me.” While he said
that in ridicule, he could just see the end of the road for himself. Hence his
position is summed up as “I am finished”. How often do we feel that way when
circumstances go against our plans? The last words world renowned playwright
George Bernard Shaw said to his nurse were: “Sister, you're trying to keep me
alive as an old curiosity, but I'm done, I'm finished, I'm going to die.”
My dear brothers and sisters,
when we come to the end of the road in our life and circumstances are adverse,
please do not say, “I am finished.” Rather our words should be, “It is not
finished.” Please focus on the task at hand than on ego and shame.
We had, as a family, faced many
challenges but he refused to get bogged down. One year when dad was not
employed he had pledged to give as tithe, more than previous years. My mother
was not well for many years and we, as any other family, had our share of
sickness, pain and grief, but he always taught us to be positive.
It is not finished: The thief on the right held on
to the position - It is not finished. He repented in the last hour and thus was
able experience the saving power of Jesus. He has a glimpse of heaven which
made him pray, “Lord remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” For him
clearly it was not finished. Those of us
who do not have a glimpse of Heaven we need to come to that saving Knowledge.
Accomplishment: The position that Jesus has taken is one of
accomplishment. Jesus’ word, “It is finished” communicates closure and
completion. It is one of goal attainment. Jesus has given us the example that
we need to be goal oriented and execute what we have set out to do.
Having done God’s will we also
need to have the inner confidence to say, “Yes it is finished.” Notice the
humility of Jesus in saying “It” and not “I have finished the task”. Many a
time we are eager to garner credit for ourselves. Jesus’ focus was the task and
its accomplishment than on self. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the
workers are few.” Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers
into his harvest field.”
Friends, the call today, is
that all of us work as a team and complete the task at hand. The most beautiful
aspect is that every ‘Finish’ gives us the hope of a ‘New Beginning’. May God
give us grace and peace to do his will and attempt great things for God even as
we expect great things from God.
God Bless you all. April 23, 2012
