The Last Leaf

King Solomon wrote that “There is a time for every purpose under heaven.” Although heaven has plenty of “time,” we live in increments and stages which have beginnings and endings. Darkness recedes in dawn’s early light. The sun sets. Transitions eventually complete. Projects are finished. A final page is turned. The last leaf falls. Years pass. We age. Our lives finish! We live one last earthly day! Time eventually brings the irreversible!

Remember how Jesus cried out from his cross, “ It is finished.” Was that a cry of relief from all the poverty, misunderstanding, mistreatment, hatred, and earthly trials he had suffered? Was it because he had perfectly withstood all temptations so that no fault could be found in him? Was it because he had completed Old Testament prophesies concerning him? Was it because he had flawlessly met the demands of the Law or had fulfilled his Father’s redemptive mandate with his selfless sacrifice for the salvation of the world? Did he mean he had fully paid the sin debt for humanity on that shameful cross?

Perhaps all that and much more!

It was the victory cry of a spiritual conquerer! The time had come for Christ to fulfill God’s unique redemptive plan. Unfortunately, we are not morally pure, and our self-righteousness cannot atone for our sins. So, thankfully, God provided the path to salvation through Christ’s righteousness. The power of sin’s shame and condemnation ended at the cross. There despair ends and hope begins for all who trust in Christ’s sacrifice. And just two days following that horrendous event, resurrection and an empty tomb took away the fear of death.

We finish here? But with a new beginning! Redemption ushers the believer into a kingdom for which there is no end.

World without end! Amen.