Knowing Your Ending

What kind of reader are you?  Are you one who likes to read the ending before you start the book?  Or are you a reader that never reads the ending of a story first?

I confess, I’m the kind of reader who never reads the end of the book -  maybe it's the rule follower in me.  But I also love to be kept in suspense and to have my mind racing all over the place trying to figure out the ending.

However, I also love to read books over and over, especially the ones that are my true treasures.  I still enjoy them even though I know the end of the story.  Reading them is like sitting down with a dear friend that I haven’t seen for a while and getting reacquainted.

What about you, what kind of reader are you?

Monica Edinger in her blog “Educating Alice” confesses that she is a reader of endings first.  She shares that when reading a series of books where she has gotten to know and care about the characters that she needs to read the ending.  Look at her reasoning, “I knew as I began reading that I needed that worry set at rest so I could get into the book to enjoy the adventure, to find out how they made it safely to the end.” 

She also gives another reason why she might read the ending first, “I might find it slow going and rather than immediately quitting, I might check further along to see if something there made it worth continuing”

Just like a reader who reads the ending of a book first, we, as followers of Jesus Christ, know our ending – we will one day see Jesus face to face! 

But why don’t many of us live like we know our ending?

Monica says that once she knows the ending she’s able to set her worry at rest and enjoy the adventure. 

Shouldn’t that be the case for us as believers?  Shouldn’t we give our worries and fears to God and enjoy the journey God has set us on?  Shouldn’t the hope we have be a light to the world?  Shouldn’t our lives radiate our faith?

Look at what Paul says about the Christians in Colossea, “For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which comes from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.”

They KNEW their ending and it allowed them to live freely, enjoying the adventure.  Was it easy for them?  No!  But their HOPE was in the future and it kept them from quitting or getting discouraged.

Let us live like the Colossians with CONFIDENT HOPE because we too, know our ending!