END OF STORY, Alexis A. Goring

End of Story

A devotional by Alexis A. Goring

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

– John 3:16-17 [NKJV]

Years ago, one of my college classmates, we’ll call her Liz, said that whenever she picks up a new book, she always flips to the last few pages and reads that first so that she knows how the story ends. And if she does not like the end of the story, she will not read the book!

Liz’s way of protecting her mind as a book reader stayed with me and I think of her words often. But I do not adopt her way of reading books because for me, to know how a story ends before I even begin doesn’t bring me comfort. In fact, it throws the plot out the window and ruins my experience as a reader because I want to journey through the pages with the characters.

I want to get to know each of the featured characters and delve into their lives in their fictional story world. I like getting to know the characters. I like growing to care about what they want in life and being just as surprised as them when the plot takes a twist. Learning life lessons as their character is developed is something I enjoy. But most of all, I love it when the author gives my favorite characters a happy ending to their story! All of those highs and lows, twists and turns, challenges and victories, joy and sorrows make the story worth reading! At least that’s how I feel about it.

As Liz’s way of reading books resurfaced in my mind recently, I remembered another illustration about a custodian who only had a grade level education. One day on his break from cleaning the school gym, someone saw the custodian reading The Holy Bible. The person walked up to the custodian and asked him how he could understand the Bible with only a grade level education. The custodian referred to the final book in the Bible called Revelation and replied that he did understand that “in the end, God wins!”

Now that’s the only book of which I would read the very last chapter first, instead of starting at the beginning, because it comforts me to know that in the end of this story called Life that all humankind plays a role in, God wins!

God wins over pain. God wins over sorrow. God wins over death. God wins over ALL the maladies caused by sin and Satan. When the final curtain closes on human history, God wins! He reigns forever and will defeat the devil permanently. Evil will not last forever. Goodness, joy, grace, mercy, eternal life and pure love … all of which are from God will prevail!

We will have a happy end to our story if we only believe in God and accept His Son Jesus Christ into our hearts! The Bible says in Acts 16:31 (ESV), “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

This beautiful hope of a happily ever after that lasts throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity reminds me of the gospel music song “Heaven’s Door” by Dwight Anderson.

In the song, he describes the streets of Heaven, which are made from pure gold (Revelation 21:21). He speaks of resting upon a shore of crystal, sitting beside mighty lions unafraid and feeling the perfect peace of knowing that all of the pain and trials that he experienced while living as a citizen of Heaven (Philippians 3:20) on Earth are over!

The artist (Dwight Anderson) talks about what he wants to do when he arrives in Heaven. He wants to see the Mercy Seat (Exodus 25:17-22), meet his guardian angel, walk with famous Bible characters like Moses and Elijah, talk with Jesus forever … and use the wings of his new, immortal body to soar to all of the other worlds that God created!

But this is more than just a dream for Dwight, this is going to be the beautiful reality for all who accept Jesus Christ and believe in God!

Heaven is real, my friends. God is real and salvation offered through God’s Son (Jesus Christ) is the real deal that leads to eternal life spent in the presence of God the Father forever!

So won’t you join me on this journey to Heaven?

Won’t you pick up a copy of the book about the Greatest Story ever told (The Holy Bible), open it and get to know the Savior of the World (Jesus Christ) as you read His Word?

Start in the book of Genesis (where the story begins) then turn each page, experiencing the highs and lows with the characters, knowing that by the time you reach the end of your journey through God’s Word (reading the last chapter in the book of Revelation), that the end of the story is good!

The end of the story, our story, is (and I’ll say it again), “God wins!”

If you choose to follow Jesus Christ and stay on God’s side that means you will win too!

Author Bio: Alexis A. Goring is a passionate writer with a degree in Print Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing. She loves the art of storytelling and hopes that her stories will connect readers with the enduring, forever love of Jesus Christ.