Three words. They don’t seem like much just to read them. I have been thinking about them for a couple of reasons. First I just read them in my morning quiet time, but I will get to that in a little bit.
The second reason is that I have been painting this week. One of our guys from church, Rex, went with me to the Associational church camp ground, Tenkiller Baptist Assembly, in Cookson. The camp has been doing a little renovation on a building. They were on the backside of a remodel on the interior of a building and had a bathroom that needed repainting.
We met at 7:30 Wednesday morning and headed up in our best painting clothes (sarcasm intended). We went in and looked over the room, gathered up the pans, brushes and rollers and found the paint and poured it in the pans…we are off and painting. There were two shower rooms, two rooms with commodes and vanities and a large open space for a sitting or dressing area. We quickly figure out who will paint what. Since I am taller, I will paint the ceiling and cut in the top areas and the corners. Rex is going to paint the walls. Seems like a good system. And we are off and painting. Job should take only about three hours.
But first we decide to start in the commode rooms to kind of get “our groove” going. After completing this we move to the larger area moving to the smaller areas. Both of us have our paint rollers and are putting on the paint. Commode areas are finished and I can see Rex is a kindred spirit as he (after only one room mind you) has paint on him as well as the wall and maybe some on the floor.
But, we listen to some Christian Radio on Pandora to kind of put a rhythm to the painting. Painting the ceiling, overhead has the ability to prove the theory of gravity. The roller drips some paint on the floor, my shirt, my head…basically on me. The roller also puts out a nice splatter pattern if you roll to fast or let the roller go dry and splatters on my face and glasses. I also find some paint on my cell phone that was in the front pocket of my overhauls (decided that takes talent!).
Soon we were done with the big room and moved to the shower rooms. These are much smaller and don’t take as long but smaller spaces make it easier to get more paint on yourself (and I did too).
As I finished cutting in the ceiling and corners of one of the shower rooms I see Rex. He just finished the last wall in the big room. I didn’t think he could get more paint on him than I got on myself but…he did.
We both decided that if you don’t get any paint on you then you aren’t really painting. With that being said, we should be professional painters!
But the moment came when we made the last pass with the rollers. Went back into big room and took our rollers and rolled as much paint on the wall from the rollers as possible to make cleanup easier. Then we went out and cleaned up the brushes, rollers, pans and ourselves (well as much as possible with a garden hose).
Then we returned to put up the supplies and stood back to admire our work. It looked good. What was a dull grayish-white was now a bright, fresh and pretty white wall and ceiling. It gave us a feeling of accomplishment and pride (if we can be proud). We could stand back and say, “It is finished.”
These were the words Jesus said on the cross before He, “…gave up the ghost…” He was born of a virgin, announced by John the Baptist, taught like no other taught, healed the deaf, blind, mute, lepers, raised the dead and made the lame to walk. He also walked on water, changed water to wine and went nose to nose with the religious leaders, even calling them hypocrites.
Jesus’ life came to an end by being betrayed by one of His own disciples, was tried in a kangaroo court of the religious leaders, condemned by Pilate and crucified on a cross. As Jesus’ life was ending, He knew He had completed everything His Father sent Him to do. He looked out and said, “It is finished.”
As it think of Jesus finishing His life and Rex and I finishing our painting I pondered that our painting was pretty messy. So was Jesus’ life and death. Sometimes in life some jobs/tasks are going to be messy but the end result is so worth it!
I thought about how fulfilling the finished product of painting was and wondered if Jesus thought the same. He came, fulfilled the prophecies, every one of them, and at the end knew He became the propitiation, offering, for sin, the sin of all mankind. Looking back and forward He could say, “It is finished.”
Nothing like seeing your work finished and admire it. “It is finished”
Washing off the paint (still), Bro. Tim
First Southern Baptist Church, Gore
