On Endings

I’ve never liked endings. Even when I was a little kid, or maybe especially then. Whether it be the end of a birthday party as a child, gospel goodbyes as an adult, or even the last Blue Collar Comedy Tour movie. Endings made and make me sad. I used to tell myself that it’s just part of life and that I’ve gotta develop thicker skin and not let it get to me so much. Today, though, I realized that there may be something deeper than just being sensitive to change or wanting to avoid reality. I believe it’s because deep down, before I knew how to express it, I knew that we are wired for eternity.

When God created man, he did so with eternity in mind. He created them to be in eternal relationship with him. He created a world that was good and very good. Then Adam and Eve sinned and fractured that goodness. Certainly, God had this in mind when he created the world as well. I mean, eternally speaking he chose and predestined the elect “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). Yet, temporally, we live in the age that is still fractured by sin even though Christ has already initiated his kingdom. Our lives are marked by good things ending too soon. Firefly, anyone?

It may seem silly to some, but I believe that endings are a result of The Fall.

Whether it be friendships that fade over time, gospel goodbyes when friends move elsewhere, or the end of a night spent with good friends. Something jolts in my stomach that makes me feel that this just isn’t right. It shouldn’t end so soon. Because we were wired for that which is good to last for eternity, and each time something good ends, it reminds me that this isn’t the way life is supposed to be.

We were created for more.

It makes me long for the completion of our redemption all the more, and makes my soul cry out to God to finally usher in the eternity of “good” for which we were created. Constant relationship with him. Consistent communion with the Church. Firefly seasons 2-10.

The time when gospel goodbyes will be no more because the kingdom the gospel announces has been consummated and the only people around are those who are in Christ. The time when feeling far from God will be over, because he will be our ever-present light. The time when all the heartache caused by a life fractured by sin becomes undone. When all God’s children have the unity and peace for which we so desperately long, with God and with one another.

Until then, may God give us the grace and strength to endure the endings, to embrace the gospel goodbyes, and to remember that though we may feel far from him, he is always near to us.

Maranatha, Lord Jesus. Maranatha.

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