Maybe the ending isn’t the most important part

I was reading the Christmas story this week in the Bible, and I was surprised at my reaction to the opening words. In Luke, chapter 1, an angel appears to Zechariah, telling him that he and his wife Elizabeth are going to give birth to a son named John.

This was good news, as they had been barren for years. Yet my immediate thought was:

“Yeah, great. And one day, John’s going to get his head chopped off by a crazy king.”

“What?!?” I thought. “What happened in my heart that made me jump to the end of the story, where the king’s wife asks to be given the head of John the Baptist on a platter?”

Somehow I skipped the entirety of John’s fruitful and productive life. I went straight to the ending. Why did I skip over all the good stuff? I knew exactly why.

I’ve recently gone through my own “bad ending.” I was in a relationship that began so beautifully, yet ended so abruptly after only a few short months. My head was reeling, as if someone had brought it out on a platter, too. What began as good news soon filled me with tremendous grief and disappointment, so much so that I considered giving up on ministry completely.

I must not have heard from God, I thought. I must have messed up somehow that caused my dream world to burst. And I am now looking back on the relationship through the lens of its ending, leaving me with feelings of pain, shame, and despair.

So I understood why I responded to Zechariah’s “good news” that the angel had brought him. Remembering how the story ended, I filtered it through the lens of the ending only, as if the ending was the most important part.

But John’s story is more than its ending! As I kept reading the Christmas story, I saw a much fuller view of the “good news” the angel had given to Zechariah even before his son John was born. The angel said:

“Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God is showing grace to you. For I have come to tell you that your prayer for a child has been answered. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son and you are to name him John.

“His birth will bring you much joy and gladness. Many will rejoice because of him. He will be one of the great ones in the sight of God. He will drink no wine or strong drink, but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even while still in his mother’s womb.

“And he will persuade many in Israel to convert and turn back to the Lord their God.

“He will go before the Lord as a forerunner, with the same power and anointing as Elijah the prophet.

“He will be instrumental in turning the hearts of the fathers in tenderness back to their children and the hearts of the disobedient back to the wisdom of their righteous fathers.

“And he will prepare a united people who are ready for the Lord’s appearing.”

Luke 1:13-17, TPT

Now that’s a life well-lived! And John did do all of those things, even up to his final breath, when he was beheaded because of his warning to the king to turn away from his adulterous and incestuous relationship with his brother’s ex-wife.

And then there’s this: listen to what Jesus had to say about John’s life:

“Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist…” (Matthew 11:11a).

Now that’s the RIGHT perspective! My initial reaction to the passage was skewed by the pain of what I had recently been through myself. I had jumped to the end and skipped all the good stuff in between. My lens was askew.

I thought again about my relationship that ended. I thought of the joys and blessings that have come from it, despite its ending… and some blessings even because of its ending.

I thought again:

Maybe the ending isn’t the most important part.

I prayed: “Lord, help me to have Your perspective on the people and events in my life. Help me to not skew my memories through a lens that’s distorted. Help me to have a clear view of the whole story, especially the parts that are most important to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Here’s John’s story in a nutshell, as foretold by the angel… the parts that matter most of all:

“His birth will bring you much joy and gladness. Many will rejoice because of him. He will be one of the great ones in the sight of God.”

May God give us all His perspective on the people and events in our lives.

Love,

Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God's name so Christ may be seen! Learn more at https://ericelder.com

P.S. And if you’d like to listen to some beautiful Christmas music, here are two full albums of piano music recorded by my sister, Marilyn Byrnes. Just use the links below or search any streaming music service for “Marilyn Byrnes, Christmas.” Enjoy!

https://marilynbyrnes.hearnow.com/christmas/