Brothers & Sisters,

             What word makes you happy? When you are grinding it out from one day to the next, what truth do you grab a hold of, preach to yourself, and rest in to make it through the day? If you could pick one word, maybe it should be “Finished.” That may seem like an odd word to begin the day with. Finished? Why remind yourself of the word “finished” when the day has just begun? Because that is the word that Jesus declared from the cross when his cross-work was done. In his book, Happy Christian, David Murray puts it this way:

I’ve tried countless kinds of to-do lists. I’ve experimented with colorful cards, complicated mind maps, sophisticated software, and innumerable apps. And none of them ever gets me closer to “Done!” I keep hoping that somehow the right technique, the right method, or the right program will move my inbox to zero, my desk trays to empty, and my latest to-do list to all checked off.

All in vain. E-mails keep arriving, reports keep dropping, and things to do keep multiplying. An insatiable cacophony of “Do! Do! Do!” taunts me as I reluctantly come to the depressing conclusion that I will never be finished, that I’ll never be done.

            Then I turn to Christianity and, to my unutterable and indescribable delight, I encounter the rare and refreshing words; “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Are there any happier words in the universe?

            It is done. All done. Nothing in my spiritual inbox. Nothing in my trays. No lists to tackle. It is finished!

            Jesus lived the life I could not live and died the death I dare not die. He took my duties and performed them perfectly; He took my failures and paid the penalty. That’s the foundation, the starting point, the beginning of all true Christianity. Done! Done! Done!

[David Murray, The Happy Christian: Ten Ways to Be a Joyful Believer in a Gloomy World (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2015), 47.]

“Finished.” It may be the happiest word on earth. It may even be the happiest word in heaven. As a new day dawns, as your worldly work begins, remember that Jesus’ work for your salvation is done. That is good news, happy news.

Warmly in Christ,

Mike