“I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. … “
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “lam thirsty” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Character Check Who has God called me to be-and to do with my remaining years?
In Business Terms “It is finished.” According to John, these were the last words of Jesus. But what exactly was finished?
He was but a young man with many years of ministry ahead of him. He had been preaching for only three years and had little to show for it: the last of his followers had fled in fear; the kingdom of Rome seemed in no way threatened by the kingdom of God; recovery of sight hadn’t yet come to many of the blind; captives were still doing time; liberty had not yet come to the underside of society.
Nothing much was finished, except that which God had called Jesus to do. “I glorified you on earth,” Jesus prayed, “by finishing the work that you gave me to do.”
It must have been tempting for him to try to do more, to try to, well, save the world. A few more years and who knows? Perhaps thousands more could be exposed to the kingdom’s message; at least hundreds more could be touched by its healing power.
If he were like most of us, he would have let Peter go through with his rescue attempt-anything to get back to ministry, to continue his work. To the end, though, he refused to take responsibility for everything-to do what really mattered. For that reason, he did save the world.
Every leader must ask, What am I called to do? Where should I invest my time and energies?”
—Donald McCullough
Something to Think About The effective executive focuses on contribution. He looks up from his work and outward toward goals. He asks: “What can I contribute that will significantly affect performance and results of the institutions I serve?” His stress is on responsibility. – Peter Drucker
