Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor, architect, and poet, whose artistic accomplishment exerted a tremendous amount of influence on his contemporaries and on subsequent European art. The sad reality is, however, that he left many of his works unfinished.

Whether or not all His creatures realize it, God, the divine sculptor and architect of the universe, finished His works (Genesis 2:1-2). Having finished creating the world, He evaluated it and said it was good (2:3). Then He rested. Not because He was weary, but because creation was finished.

Not only did God complete His creation, in Jesus He finished the work of redemption. As He was nearing the end of His earthly work, Jesus explained that His nourishment came from doing the will of God and finishing His work (John 4:34). And He did just that! While on the cross, Jesus cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Access to an authentic relationship with God was made available through His sacrificial death. After Jesus finished the work of redemption, He sat down at the place of honor at God’s right hand (Hebrews 10:12).

As believers in Jesus, we’re called to finish our God-ordained assignments (Colossians 4:17). Our lives are worth nothing unless we give ourselves to doing and finishing the work assigned to us by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the good news of God’s love and grace.

Let’s finish the work assigned to us so we can say, like the apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful” (2 Timothy 4:7).