It is finished
JOHN 19:30 AMP
When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and [voluntarily] gave up His spirit.
Can you imagine what state we would be in if Jesus had decided to cut corners and not pay the price? What if Jesus had come and in the process of living life on earth, he forgot his purpose and why he came in the first place? Where would we be today? We would still be lost and separated from God for eternity.
As someone once said, if you do not know your destination/ Purpose then any road will take you there. You will never be able to say it is finished because you have no vision of what the destination or objective is, so in reality you never really started.
Hebrews 6:12 Amplified Bible (AMP)
12 so that you will not be [spiritually] sluggish, but [will instead be] imitators of those who through faith [lean on God with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in His power] and by patient endurance [even when suffering] are [now] inheriting the promises.
One of the consequences of not having a vision or not paying the price is that you miss out on the prize or the promises. Many people what the prize but they are not willing to pay the price. I think of Judas, he walked with Jesus, he saw the many miracles that Jesus performed, he heard the sermons and teaching of Jesus but all that did not help because he was not willing to pay the price of forsaking everything to follow Jesus, He was still consumed with the love of money. His name is not associated with a good thing, in fact the mention of his name is always associated with betrayal and I am yet to meet anyone who is comfortable to call their child Judas.
The Bible says that without a vision the people perish. Prov 29:18. If anything is worthwhile then there is a price to pay. That takes patience perseverance and long suffering, something that is becoming extinct in this microwave generation where we want it and we want it now!
With Jesus as our example, having persevered and having paid the ultimate price, may we also do the same so that like Paul we may declare;
2 Timothy 4:7-8 (AMP)
7 I have fought the good and worthy and noble fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith [firmly guarding the gospel against error]. 8 In the future there is reserved for me the [victor’s] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that [great] day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and longed for and welcomed His appearing.
