Sunday Devotion- No ending

Janet Rubin

I'm going to attempt to put into words a feeling familiar to all book lovers. It's the bittersweet sensation that swells in one's heart with the ending of a fantastic story. It's almost like the end of a love affair. First we "meet" a book; we are attracted by its cover, its name, perhaps a few charming words on the dust jacket. We decide we'd like to know this book better. And we read the first page. We see something there that draws us in further- something intriguiging or lovely, something that makes us want more. And we decide to "commit," handing over our library card or our Visa, we take possesion of the volume, planning to read every page. And in the very best, luckiest times, we find we've gotten our hands on a real gem- a story with prose that delights, characters we care about deeply, villains we despise, truths that resonate in our souls, and a plot that keeps us riveted. We fall in love. When we love a book this much, we are pleased if it is the beginning of a series. We can finish a book secure in the knowledge that there is more to come.

However, not every wonderful book has a sequel. And even series come to an end. Perhaps not everyone experiences the feeling of loss that I do when I know my time with beloved characters draws to a close. Right now I am reading the last book in a series I've enjoyed more than anything I've read in a long time. As I near the midway mark in the book, I'm enjoying the story. Things are coming together in a satisfying way. I'm still riveted and I can't wait to see how it ends. Yet, I'm trying to read slowly, and I'm worrying about what I will find to read next that will fill me with as much pleasure.

Of course the books we read become a part of us. The ones we truly love, we read again and again, maybe to the extent that we can quote passages from memory. Yet, after "The End" there is no more. The characters will never say or do anything new. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end. Nothing more.

It reminds me of the faulty concept of life without the hope of a Savior and an afterlife. Without the hope of Heaven, the best one can hope for is a peaceful END. (Though those of us who know God's Word realize there is no such thing as an END. For souls go on-- whether to eternity with or eternity without God.) How glad I am that this life isn't all that there is! That I will never have to mourn the loss of a loved one who is a brother or sister in Christ, or even the end of my own life, without the security of knowing there is a glorious and everlasting sequel.

I am reminded of a quote James Scott Bell shared in Dallas: "Great art makes you homesick for Heaven." Maybe that is what that sadness at the end of a great book is all about. Our hearts long for eternity, for a joy and beauty with no ending. All of the beauty and excellence we encounter is just a foretaste.

Lord, Thank You for all we have to look forward to. I can't imagine what wonders You have planned for us. Eternal life. What a gift. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Amen

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.