“It is finished.”

With those three small words, our Savior bowed His head and gave up His spirit (John 19:30).   Although this chapter of Jesus’s earthly ministry had concluded, His work was far from done.

His finished work on the cross and His resurrection loosed chains and broke bonds   Separation was no more.  The chasm was bridged.  Sin and death were conquered.    The finished work of Christ was my new beginning.

The work of Christ is a story of a love so great, so selfless, so sacrificial, we may never fathom its depth.  It was that love, His sacrifice, that made a way.  A way to be free of the burdens we carry.    A way out of the muck and mire.  A way to have victory over sin.  A way to be new.  A way to the Father.

All other ways only lead astray.  All other efforts only fall short.  The Lord knew that my best efforts would never be enough; they would be as filthy rags.  Only the work of the cross would be enough.  It would be all that I need…all that you need.

Our Savior still lives today.  He is not on the cross, nor does His body fill the tomb.  He sits at the right hand of the Father, and He is at work.  He is opening hearts and minds.  He is calling people to Himself.  He is making new beginnings.  His finished work can be your new beginning.

Jesus tells us to come.  Come with your burdens; lay them down.  Come with your sins; have them washed clean.  Come just as you are, so you don’t have to remain just as you are.  He offers you a new beginning, a new start, a new life.  It comes only through His cleansing blood, only through the cross.

He’s calling you to come, not to be part of a stringent set of Medieval rules and regulations,  but to come to a haven of rest, hope, and forgiveness.  A place where grace, mercy, and love flow freely.  He’s calling you to come to His open arms, to be embraced and held and comforted in way that no one else can do.

Colorful eggs and adorable bunnies soften the reality of the blood-stained cross and the crown of thorns.   But it is through that cross and because of those thorns that we have freedom…forgiveness….new life in Him.

May you find a new beginning this Easter.  May you find the Savior, Jesus.  May you find the hope and love you have been searching for in the finished work of Christ.

He was handed over to die because of our sins, and He was raised to life to make us right with God.

Romans 4:25