He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.
-Luke 23: 25
As we reflect on the life of Christ in more depth this Passion Week, we are reminded of what Christ Jesus came to do. He came to do the will of His Father. Even though the people in the gospel of Luke witnessed first hand all the miraculous things Jesus did, they still refused to accept Him as the Son of God. Their intentions in crucifying Jesus were based on their false expectations on who Jesus should have been. Their will to have Jesus killed clashed so strongly against that of even the most Gentile leaders because Jesus was not who they wanted Him to be. In our circumstances of oppression, hurt, anger, resentment, doubt, guilt, confusion, sadness, etc., it can be nearly impossible for us to see Jesus for who He is and not what we think He should be. The offer of life eternal is sometimes overwhelming in light of our present day reality and circumstances.
Part of finishing in faith is living daily with the gospel in the front of our minds. We finish in faith when we live God’s will and not our own. When we can say that we are giving ourselves over to Christ instead of ourselves, we are finishing in faith. So let’s do it. Let us continue to finish. Let us die to self and give ourselves over to Christ Jesus, knowing that it is He whom we should serve.