Gilland: Amazing moments and powerful endings

You never know when those amazing moments are going to happen. At least it feels that way when I am with my 4-year-old grandson.

He was visiting this past week, and we were watching a very cute animated show with barnyard animals as the actors and players. The cartoon had a fun and inspirational last scene, one in which the sheep came out as a surprise winner in a little race between the animals.

My grandson had been sitting in a child’s chair in front of the couch, where we were sitting, and as the video came to its close, he turned his head half way around, and said, “That was a powerful ending.” I broke into full-on LOL as this unexpected editorial comment came from his lips.

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As I reflected on that fun moment many times in the days since, it occurred to me that his statement carries truth beyond this context. There will one day be a powerful ending to our lives that goes beyond any expression, any description or comprehension.

According to the Bible, all of humanity will experience this ending, not just the believers in God. For “every knee will bow, every tongue will confess” in that day that Jesus is Lord. The real issue in that moment will be the direction we go after that universal acknowledgement—to heaven or hell?

In real life, the ending truly matters.

You see, it is easy to get up each morning and deal only with the happenings of today, good or bad. We tend to get focused, comfortable and complacent. We can forget that our lives are intended to be lived out with an awareness of the One who made us, who gave us breath, and whose plan is laid out in the pages of Scripture.

Worse yet, many can live their lives not even knowing the good news of the Gospel, or the hope that it brings to our souls.

Singer-songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman wrote about this in his song “More To This Life.” It says: “But there’s more to this life than living and dying, more than just trying to make it through the day.”

The truth to which Steven refers is the basis for the mission and the message of true believers, who know that the hope and freedom found in Jesus is not just for them only. We have been given the charge to share His message to our friends, our neighbors—to people everywhere.

If you are reading this and find it doesn’t make much sense, I encourage you to discover the book of John, the fourth book in the New Testament. It will acquaint you with “the greatest story ever told.”

My grandson was right. And when “that” day comes, that powerful ending will be an even greater beginning.

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