Work For the Finish

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Holy Week Family Devotional
Holy Saturday

Scripture Reading:
 - John 19:28-30

​The Finish

Have you ever completed a project only to step back, take a good long look at your work and say, “It’s finished.” It’s a good feeling isn’t it. Just knowing the amount of hard work, determination, and the fact that you followed it through to completion makes it all worth it. Recently, I re-landscaped the front and back yards of our house. It was hard work. It was dirty work. It was sweaty work. But when it was done, it looked great. And I felt good.

I’m not sure that was the feeling that day when Jesus was on the cross. Jesus came to fulfill a purpose. He had a mission. And he lived his life with the purpose of completing that mission. Jesus was sent by God to die on the cross for the sins of mankind. This was why he was born. It’s why he came to the earth. And now, his mission was complete.

In those final hours of his life, Christ endured the most brutal and humiliating treatment. Like a lamb led to slaughter, Jesus submitted all and gave up his life.

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Watch this video with your kids.

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I think about those last words, “It is finished.” What a statement! Jesus obediently completed what the Father had sent him to do. Now on the cross, it was accomplished. I don’t know if Jesus felt the same sense of pride that I do when I look at the finished landscaping project, but in some strange way, I do think Jesus recognized and knew the eternal impact of what he had just done for us. It WAS finished.

It’s humbling when I think about what Jesus did for me on that cross. Christ did for me what I couldn’t do on my own. He died for my sins. He paid the penalty for my debt. He bore the pain. He endured the humility. And he did it all because he loves me.

The same can be said of you. Jesus didn’t just die for my sin. He died for your sin as well. He laid down his life for your sake. It was your name on his mind. It was his love for you that held him to that cross.

“It is finished,” is more than the act of dying on the cross. “It is finished,” also means that your debt has been paid. Your sins can be forgiven. And you can experience a life forever with the Father and his Son! All you have to do, is give your life to him.

The bible says, that if we truly believe in our hearts that Jesus died for our sins on the cross and was raised from the dead, then we will be saved. (Romans 10:9-10) Do you believe? If you do, you will be saved.

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Try This Activity

Run to your local craft store, hardware store, or use the Amazon link below, and pick up a "build-it-yourself" birdhouse. If you have a couple of kids, you might want to pick up a birdhouse for each one.

Sit down at the kitchen table and build your birdhouses together. Talk about how these birdhouses will provide shelter and a safe space for mommy and daddy birds to start their families. A nest will be made, eggs laid, and in a few weeks the birdhouses will be filled with little birdie families! 

Talk about how this work might be challenging as you follow the instructions and put the pieces together. It will take time to complete. And while it might be little messy using glue, nails, and paint, in the end it's going to look great.

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When everyone is finished building their birdhouse, take a few minutes to admire the results of their work. Talk about what they liked about building their birdhouse and how the feel now that they are all done.

Finishing a project or a job is very important, but sometimes we get tired of the time it takes or the work involved and we walk away. Sometimes we get distracted or bored, and the project is never finished. Or, sometimes, we simply choose not to finish.

What would have happened if Jesus choose not to finish his work? Things might look really different. But despite the work, the hurt, the pain, the humiliation, Jesus was obedient to his father and he completed his work. And it's a good thing for us he did.

Now that your birdhouses are built and painted and look amazing, let's finish the project and hang them outside so the birds can begin moving into their new homes!

- the higham family

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