It Can Be Hard to Find a Happy Ending
I love a happy ending. But these days, it’s hard to find a book or movie where the guy gets the girl, the hero wins, and all is set right in the end. Instead, the stories we read and watch end in broken ways. We close the cover or turn off the TV feeling a little lost.
And where are all the good guys? Some of the best roles for leading men are anti-heroes (people that are hard to root for), like Frank Underwood from House of Cards, Walter White of Breaking Bad, and Don Draper of Mad Men.
The most popular superheroes of today are also anti-heroes. Some are sarcastically self-serving, like Ironman and Deadpool. Other “heroes” are angst-ridden vigilantes like Batman, Daredevil, and Wolverine—psst! don’t tell my husband I bashed Batman…he’s a sacred cow around here.
But—God Loves a Happy Ending!
In the Fourth Week of Advent, we light the Joy candle. With joy, we celebrate the greatest happy ending ever told.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”
The Good News? God sent us a real hero, who made the ultimate sacrifice to rescue us and to give us our longed-for happy ending.
- This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all (Acts 10:36, NLT)
- Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us (Romans 5:1, NLT).
Good News = Peace with God
“Peace is a stress-free state of security and calmness that comes when there’s no fighting or war, everything coexisting in perfect harmony and freedom” (Vocabulary.com). Peace is reconciliation with God. God is in the business of reconciliation — making peace, bringing harmony, and making the incompatible, compatible.
Relationship with God means He will erase our differences by making us more like Him (2 Corinthians 3:18). He is the One Who set out to make peace with us, even while we were His enemies (Romans 5:10). He creates harmony with us by placing Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit within us (Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 3:16). God does everything to guarantee a happy ending for us, and He doesn’t make us wait. This peace with God begins as soon as we place our trust in Jesus.
So, let’s not forget. Let’s remember the reason for our joy. The Good News is that, because of Jesus, we have peace with God, which is the greatest gift of Christmas.
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