C 2016

Well-Done

“It’s done” (John 19:30). Christ’s last words mark the finalizing of his life’s purpose among us. Not only was it a matter of doing God’s will more than what he himself would have wanted (Luke 22:42); it was a matter of finishing it.

These elements call to mind the Christ, what he did, and how he did it. Since the continuation of Christian living and mission is up to us now, observing them is—among many things—a pledge to perseverance, a commitment to carry through. At the end of his ministry, Paul could say he’d finished the course (2 Timothy 4:7). We all want to be able to say that, because it is a person’s final condition that opens up into the eternal state.