A Fairytale Ending

 

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:24-30 ESV).

 

I think most of us want a fairytale ending in our lives, though I wonder how many really believe they’ll have one. That is the declaration of the Apostle Paul in our reading today. The Scripture continuously affirms the truth that our lives have originated in God; been maintained in God; and, will ultimately be fulfilled in God. All of this will be declared “good.” Now, while it may feel good to hear that God will make sure our stories turn out well, most of the time we don’t really want to have someone else taking charge of our lives. If you’ve ever had someone try to get you to work harder or eat better or quit doing those things that are destructive in our lives, you know how frustrating that can be. As much as we might like to think we’re rational people, often we’d really rather live a second-rate life on our own terms than do better because someone else told us or nagged us into it.

 

Of course, it should sound outrageous for us to rebel directly against the authority of God in our lives. After all, he’s God, King of the universe, so we’re supposed to do as he says—right? Yet even we as God’s people willfully rebel against God’s directions. This is the story of Jonah in the in the Old Testament. But more ­often we try subtler approaches, pretending to follow God’s way while in our hearts we keep our distance from him.

 

It all boils down to a simple point: We are terrible at trusting God to be God. We’d rather manage on our own and mess things up. I like the way Tim Keller paraphrases today’s verse this way: God promises to give us exact­ly what we would ask for if we knew what he knew. Now that will make for a good story, if we dare to believe it. There is much more than a mere fairytale ending in store for believers. We have an eternal life full of nothing but perfect good waiting. I like that ending. I pray it is your hope today!