The End of the Story

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16

The ending of a story is arguably the most important part. I’m thinking of a couple of examples in movies. One, seen just recently, Mudbound, has an ending that was important to me to make other parts of the movie palatable. The movie’s ending may not have been realistic, but I needed it in order to feel all right at that point in the story. You’ll need to see the movie yourself to see what I mean!

In another favorite Christmas film, The Family Stone, the ending is sad, bittersweet, and totally realistic. Death is a part of life. In this case, I didn’t “need” the ending to be something redemptive in order to go forward feeling good about what I had seen.

With Christ we know how the story ends…He has promised us eternal life with Him. We don’t know what tomorrow may bring, just as certainly as we know that we will go through trials while here on earth. But knowing that God is with us, and knowing the “end of the story”, we have peace and comfort to go on.

Prayer: Dear Lord: Some days are easier than others, and sometimes it’s hard not knowing what our future holds. Calm us, reassure us, let us know that you’re with us. Thank you for your promise of eternal life. Amen.

Donna Gustafson