"I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." (John 17:4)

As it is that the Lord Jesus never wasted a thing, whether time, words, energy, or movement, there is a precision in the atonement as well. It was the magnum opus, the great work, which the Father had given Him to do... coming to this sin-cursed earth to reveal the only living and true God (v.3), and die in the place of those whom the Father had given Him (vss. 2, 9) in eternity past.  This two-pronged purpose was why He came, why He preached, why He taught, why He performed His attesting signs, and why He submitted to the terrible tortures of crucifixion.  And His agony was, of course, much more than physical. What He suffered spiritually, as the God-Man, was an exact equivalent of what His people would have suffered in an eternity in hell.

How can we possibly begin to thank You, blessed Savior, beloved Lord, for Your willingness to leave the triune bliss of heaven and come to walk among sinful humanity...?  We cannot fathom such perfect submission, such humble obedience, that You would lay down Your sinless life for the likes of us... actually becoming sin Who had never known the slightest hint of sin... all done that we might become the righteousness of God in You.  
Take such thoughts, blessed Holy Spirit, and use them to deepen our love for the Master, that we would walk in a manner worthy of His calling.  We, too, at the end, want to be able to say, "I accomplished the work You gave me to do."  In the Lord Jesus' Name, Amen.