Legacy

Lectio: John 19:29-30 – A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Contemplation: “It is finished.”

Meditation: Jesus prays for his disciples after the Passover meal was observed in the upper room in Jerusalem. In his prayer, he says that he has glorified God on earth by finishing the work God gave him to do. The work of God is to provide all that was needed through time and space so that whosoever believes in Jesus, as the Son of God, the Messiah sent by God, shall not perish but have abundant and eternal life. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit act in unity to finish the work. God Sends the Son. The Son sends the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit draws people to Christ through the conviction of sin, and through Christ, into God’s abundant and eternal love and life. Now that the work was finished, Jesus prays for the reestablishment of the glory he had together with God before the world existed (John 17:1-5). 

On the cross, Jesus again says his work is finished so that the world may know. Christ’s finishing work is now perfect, complete, and whole.  His life, death, and coming resurrection can now begin to yield lives that are now able to receive as a gift of God’s life that is abundant and never-ending. Christ’s finishing work is not static; it is perpetual and transcends time and space and is available to “whosoever believes in him.” His finished saving work has left a priceless and limitless legacy that all people in all times have access to and are invited to receive.

Today, I meditate on the finished work of Christ that continues to bless generations upon generations and produces the fruit of abundant and eternal faith in people of all ages, nations, and races in all times and places. I am grateful for the gift of sharing with others, past, present, and to come in Christ’s inexhaustible legacy. 

Prayer: I pray for the grace to leave a legacy that blesses generations to come.