John 19:30 says “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘it is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

A year ago, my mom and I were doing some Christmas shopping when we came across the cutest necklaces. They were gold chains with a simple gold bar containing one word etched into it. “Tetelestai.” In the Greek language, this word means “it is finished.” John 19:30 was written in Greek because it was the language of the period, the language in which Jesus spoke. When Jesus took his last breath before dying, he didn’t utter the words ‘it is finished.’ He uttered the word “tetelestai.”

So I wear that word around my neck. Every single day. Because I screw up all the time. More than I’d like to admit, I screw up in ways that I think God can’t forgive me, but He does. There is nothing, nothing, I can do to make God love me any less than He does. In John 10: 28-29 Jesus says, about believers, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” 

You are a child of God, which means nothing can snatch you out of God’s hand; no matter how powerful, He is greater than all. 

Now, this is not a get out of jail free card; I have to constantly remind myself of this. God’s grace covers everything that you could possibly do, so there is no need for guilt and shame. However, it should not be abused as an excuse to run around sinning. It just means that when you do slip up, because we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), your sins are covered and you are set free. 

So whatever you have to do to remind yourself of this, whether it be in a piece of jewelry like me or in writing it on your hand, find it and do it. Because you need the constant reminder of God’s grace that covers you.