John 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said: “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
When Jesus hung upon the cross 2000 years ago, He cried out with a loud voice: “It is finished!”
Everything that you and I need for this life was completed through those three words. Jesus' work upon the cross is a finished work. It is done and there is nothing more you need to do to add to it.
Paul says we reign in this life through Christ just by receiving two things: Jesus' abundant grace and His gift of righteousness (Romans 5:17). The key word is receiving. God’s righteousness does not come through achieving, but simply receiving.
But many Christians still fall into the trap of the world which operates on a system of achievement.
From a very young age we realise if we want to receive the approval of others and succeed in life, it will come through self-effort and achievement. So parents place heavy demands on their children to perform, teachers place heavy burdens of long hours of study on students, employers drive their staff through long taxing hours and this is all driven by the fear of failure.
We grow up with the mindset of the harder we work, the more we do, the more success we will achieve. The world’s mantra is “pay the price – no pain no gain"!
And it’s no surprise that so much of today’s Christian teaching and training is influenced by this system of the world. Yet, God’s way is not for us to be blessed through our own efforts and achievement. God’s blessings do not come through our performance, they are based entirely on grace. His blessings over our life are undeserved, unearned and unmerited – they come freely through the favor of God.
I know it can take time to digest this because it is counter-cultural to the world. I had to digest it and chew on it over and over because I was raised on the world’s performance-based system and I carried this mindset over into my Christianity. I thought if I just outperform other Christians – pray more, serve more, fast more and do more, then I will receive more favor. Prayer, serving, fasting and doing the work of the gospel are all good, but they are not how you receive more favor. My actions were not wrong, my theology was wrong. I had to adjust my understanding and beliefs to align with Jesus' gospel of grace and His gift of righteousness.
So continue to pray, to serve and to sow into the House of God – just do it out of a mindset which knows you are blessed and loved already by God, rather than thinking you must do these things as a pre-requisite to being blessed and loved!
The old way is finished. The world’s performance-based system of achievement and self-effort is finished. Now rest in the knowledge that God’s blessings abound over your life simply because God loves you!