Luke 22:37
For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.

The conclusion to the story drew near.  The glorious announcements of the birth of Christ had been made.  He’d been born in such a lowly state and grown in wisdom and grace.  He had walked upon the earth, going about doing good, performing miracles, proclaiming the truth, displaying the love of God up close and personal with mankind.  Each long-told prophecy was fulfilled in progression.  Each step of the journey led to one place.  In Jerusalem, He’d be dragged away, falsely accused, condemned to death on a cross.  Then a few last steps He would walk up that hill, carrying that cross, and the last moments would dwindle down before everything would be changed forever.

Between those sinners Christ would hang on His cross.  Among the sinful He would draw His last breath.  Counted as a criminal, He would die for us.  His end was that cross, that pain, that darkness, that death, but it was really the beginning.  Every hope-filled heart that sunk at His death could rise again with Him on that resurrection morning.  A new life dawned that day not only in Him, but for us.  He’d sought to do His Father’s will, and that purpose was accomplished as He dismissed His Spirit to conquer our sin once and for all.

And because of Jesus, we have a hope that we could have never had before.  Because of Him we have life.  Because of Him, we can know God and be at peace with Him.  Because of Christ, we can leave behind the works of darkness and step into the light.  Because of all that He endured, we can be set free.  Because of Him, we can experience the true love that only God can inject into our lives.  And because of all that Christ is, we can be made new.

The life of Jesus was more than just a story.  Those long-foretold events culminated here as the living and breathing Son of God gave His life and then rose again.  And His story continues as He lives in us today, leading us forward toward our own expected end—eternal life with our Savior and Lord.  So let us endure until the end.  Let us see God’s plans for us fulfilled to completion.  Let us obey His will for us and truly live for Him, because we truly only live because of Him, and let us submit to the story He has written for us.