inbox zero

There are only a few types of email checkers in the world, based on my observation.  There are those who mostly keep their email counts up to date (this is me by the way) and try to stay mostly caught up with a handful (or on a bad day several hundred) emails that haven't been read or responded to. There are those who have thousands of unread messages and no intention of ever catching up (to their credit they just ignore the junk emails rather than delete them). And then there are the rare "inbox zero" people out there who are determined to get each and every email (junk or real) read, responded to and/or deleted each and every day.  There must be a wonderful feeling to know that in some part of life, your email account, you have completed all your work and are finished.
 
I was asked the other day about the final words of Jesus and I told the person that his final phrase was "it is finished."  While I am confident that Jesus wasn't talking about email, he was talking about his work.  Jesus had taught us what we needed to know, he had shown us what he needed to show and now he had paid the price for our sins on the cross.  He had done all he needed to do and so he could say to the Father "it is finished." (John 19:30).
 
Now it's up to us to apply his teaching, follow in his example and live like we are free from the bondage of sin.  We have inherited the benefit of his life's work and we are urged to "run the race with perseverance" (Hebrews 12:1) as it is marked out for us (with his teaching and example as our guide).
 
But remember, as you seek to live a life of holiness, the victory is already won, the price has already been paid.   You are free, so live like it.

In Christ,
Pastor Scott McDermid