Friday, May 5, 2006
Over the years I've noticed a fairly predictable formula for some of those TV adventure series: there's a victim you like, a villain you don't like, a hero you really like, and a major predicament near the end usually resolved in the last five minutes. But occasionally the predicament isn't resolved by the end of the show. As the minutes run out of the hour, the villain you don't like is winning, the victim and hero you do like are in grave danger, and it ends right there - causing a serious Maalox Moment. You're protesting, "It can't end here!" And then one hope-giving word suddenly appears on the screen - continued.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Next Exciting Episode."
In the adventure called "your life," there are plenty of all-too-real moments when the situation looks pretty hopeless, when it looks like it's over, when it's hard to imagine how there could be a happy ending. But like the continued story on television, it only looks like it's over.
That was the situation in our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 8, beginning with verse 49. Jairus, an official in the local synagogue, came to Jesus, desperately pleading for Jesus to come and save his dying, 12-year-old daughter. There was a human traffic jam of people in need who slowed down the process. And then the Bible says, "While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. 'Your daughter is dead.' he said. 'Don't bother the teacher anymore.' Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, 'Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.' When He arrived at the house of Jairus ... all the people were wailing and mourning for her. 'Stop wailing,' Jesus said. 'She is not dead but asleep.' They laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead. But He took her by the hand and said, 'My child, get up!' Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up."
Now, if you are Jairus and you get the word that your daughter has died, it sure seems like the end. Time has run out; all is lost. Maybe that's how you feel about your situation right now. But then Jesus writes His "continued" across the screen. That's how it always is when your life is in God's hands. In the words of the immortal theologian Yogi Berra, "It ain't over 'til it's over!"
No matter how dark the chapter you're living in, how final things feel, in Christ there is always another chapter. This situation is probably just the middle of the book, not the last chapter. Keep reading!
Maybe you have a deep concern for another family member and it's feeling like there's not much hope. God is already quietly writing another chapter you can't conceive. Maybe you're out of work, out of health, alone with no apparent hope of the closeness you long for, but this is only one chapter!
If it weren't for these dark episodes, we would never have the opportunity to see how powerful our Savior is. We miss His best when we put down the book too soon, or we miss the word that God is writing over every "hopeless" situation - continued. When you're in danger, or in pain, or in trouble, don't let anyone - including you - write "The End" over the situation. Because of Jesus, what we should be saying is, "Stay tuned for the next exciting episode."