Beginnings and Endings

"An ending is not an ending for those who know Jesus."

THERE COMES A TIME when you face the end, and you know life has changed. There will be no going back from this point but only a continuing into the future. A young man caught up in a cultural war between tribesmen, found himself digging graves. His own, those for others. He saw death before him and gazed at it boldly without fear. I have stood in those shoes, in another place and another way. But I understand his mentality at that moment. For his concern, what he saw, though he might die, was that these who would kill him had never heard of Jesus. In the end, he lived, and so did I. But others do not and so we rail against what happened to them, trying to reason out why. However, an ending is not an ending for those who know Jesus because He went ahead of us as the Shepherd and became the Gate, the way in and out of green pastures.

“I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.” (John 10:9 BSB)

We are caught up in physical things and so miss the heavenly ones which Jesus Christ died to bring. Ephesians 1:3 says we are seated with Him in heavenly places. As such, we should see what He sees and no longer be lost in the confusion of this earth and the demonic. Many say, “This old world is going to hell,” meaning there is no redemption for it. But if this is true, then what of Jesus’ Resurrection? He didn’t just die and stay dead but rose to life again. His death completed the plan of God for the Old Covenant, and His shed blood opened the Way for the New, for God’s abundance to us and His goodness to fill us, each and every day we live. “But what of those who die?” you ask, “who Jesus does not heal?” This is a question best asked to God in your secret place, in humbleness and prayer. I promise you He will answer if you will sit and listen. But the simple answer, what we miss of their ending is their continuation. For there are no regrets to the child of God on the other side of the Gate. Jesus removed the fear of death (Hebrews 2:15). It is only a way to better things. And so is His power within us, enabling us to live on when their days are done and to place them in a good place within our memories.

Jesus lived as a man. He lost His father, Joseph, at some point. Although this is not mentioned in the Scriptures. It was only Mary who stood at the foot of the cross, and it was Mary’s care that He gave to His beloved apostle John (John 19:26-27). This would only be if Joseph had passed. Why didn’t the gospels ever mention it? Well, it could be for the same reason it only mentions in passing Jesus’ feelings about the loss of His cousin, John the Baptizer. Or it could be we’d get off-center in considering it when what Jesus came to do was reveal the Father and the life of the Spirit, which would take the ending mankind feared and make of it everlasting, abundant life. Here is where we find rest and celebration for that one whose earthly days are done. We comfort ourselves in mourning them, knowing God has all things in His control. Some do not like this saying, feeling it takes us away from faith. I personally avoid using the word “faith” for a similar reason; it takes us away from what it is, trust in the Father’s SO LOVE for us. We believe for what we cannot see because we know He did and continues to do His utmost for us.

Nothing is out of control, nor out of His control. I have said this on many occasions, but if the devil and his ilk were in complete control, then there would be no more planet earth and an annihilation of the entirety of it. No, Jesus came and died as the Lamb of God. He rose as our Redeemer and King of Kings. We study the Word of God to know who we are in Him and to lean our trust on His work in us, in maturity. We approach Him boldly, yet with childlike trust, and He hears, and He answers. Even the hardest parts about beginnings and endings that we sometimes don’t quite grasp. As the Bible says, which speaks only truth, “What Jesus Christ was yesterday, and is to-day, he remains for ever (Hebrews 13:5 Knox).”

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:1-3)

“At that same time, I begged God: ‘God, my Master, you let me in on the beginnings, you let me see your greatness, you let me see your might—what god in Heaven or Earth can do anything like what you’ve done! Please, let me in also on the endings, let me cross the river and see the good land over the Jordan, the lush hills, the Lebanon mountains.’” (Deuteronomy 3:23-25 MSG)

Image by RosZie at Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com