Finished

John 19 says this…

 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Remember the other day when we shared the verse where Jesus refused to drink?  He hadn’t finished actively obeying all that his Father gave him to do.

In these verses, however, Jesus knew he had finished obeying his Father, so he called out for a drink.

After he drank, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

The cool thing about Jesus’ death is that he willingly, actively, gladly obeyed his Father’s plan to save mankind by suffering the kind of death he did. 

Not only did that act bring us eternal salvation, but it serves as a reminder that when God calls us to obey, we must get up and pursue that obedience.

It’s not enough to sit on a word we’ve been given, awaiting God’s coercion and coaxing to get us to obey.

We must comply with the plan God has for the world – to save the lost – and we must actively obey in all that we say and do – so that the lost will be saved.

Thankfully, God doesn’t require that we be crucified on a cross – Jesus did that. Thankfully, he doesn’t require perfection in word and deed – Jesus did that.

But he does require faith and obedience, and enables us by his Holy Spirit to join those two together in acts of obedience every day.

If you haven’t even started obeying Him, do so.  And if you’ve heard his voice but are still waiting, get up and go…