It Is Finished

Eternal Father,
I am unable to stand for a minute apart from Your grace;
Any attempt to live according to the flesh or my own ideals
Can result only in sorrow and failure.

Perhaps this was the lesson,
The understanding You desired Your people to come to.
Left to their own devices, Israel spiraled into idolatry
And offered sacrifices in attempted atonement.

But only the Messiah could bring reconciliation;
Only the Savior could satisfy Your righteous wrath.
And in Your goodness You have disclosed
That it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

And beyond this You have also made known
That apart from Christ I can do nothing--
So why is it that I turn to the world for comfort
Or hope in man rather than in God?

To live as if Christ is not my all-in-all,
As if I have not been grafted into this olive tree,
Is to seek a slavery of the past
And to long for chains over liberty.

But Your new creation was never meant for chains;
Your people were not freed to turn to their own ways or ideals.
No, they were called to be bondservants of Christ,
To rejoice in service to the One who bought them.

O Lord, grant that I, Your child,
Come to a deeper and richer understanding
That all fleshly efforts of mine are ever insufficient,
But that in my Lord Jesus, "It is finished!"