Finishing Well

Today is Good Friday. I have been thinking about how Jesus finished well. Good Friday would not be Good Friday if Jesus decided to slack off and not finish what he started. I believe this is a temptation many of us face. The temptation is simple. Not honoring the Lord at the end of something in the same way as the beginning.

I believe this is a temptation Jesus faced. After all, he was tempted in every way as we are, and was without sin. Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

I take “every way” as literally meaning “every way.” I believe that in the garden Jesus was being tempted to not finish well. Jesus prayed a prayer three times in a row while in the garden. What was the prayer?

Matthew 26:39 “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

This prayer shows the humanity of Christ. Jesus lived a solid 33 years or so without sinning and doing everything within the will of the Father. That is incredible! But without the cross and the resurrection there would be no Good Friday, there would be no redemption, there would be no regeneration, there would be no sanctification, there would be no salvation, and there would be no hope. All of this is because Jesus finished well. He set out to accomplish a task to bring glory to God, and he finished it in the same way he started, by honoring God above all things. In fact, the last words of Christ before he died were,

John 19:30 “It is finished.”

Today I am thanking Jesus for finishing well, and I am praying that I will learn from his example and finish things in my life well.

A Sign of a Healthy Relationship

I am in the last days of singleness and am preparing for a life of marriage. God has blessed me with a godly woman who is absolutely gorgeous! I am blessed beyond what I deserve! I started thinking about an important question when it comes to a dating, courting, engagement, or marriage relationship. How do you know if your relationship is spiritually healthy?

Something I have experienced in my relationship with my fiancée is that more of my sin has been exposed and brought into view. Why is this good and healthy? Being in a relationship where each of you expose sin in each other’s life is healthy because it means the focus of the relationship is on being obedient to Jesus Christ and living more like Christ. If a relationship does not expose any sin, then I would question whether the relationship is founded on Jesus Christ. Being in a relationship with Jesus Christ has made me holy and righteous in the sight of God. If marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church, then my relationship with my fiancée should be a catalyst for our sanctification.

A sign of a healthy and godly relationship is that sin is exposed, repented of, and both people live more holy and righteous because of the influence of Jesus.

2 Corinthians 7:1 “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”