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MEDITATION:

Written by Edward T. Welch, a contemporary Christian counselor and director of the School of Biblical Counseling.

The ending makes all the difference. A tragic story like Shakespear’s Romeo and Juliet starts well, with people full of hope and love, but it ends badly. A comedy like Much Ado About Nothing opens with dark omens and scheming betrayers. The future looks very uncertain but it turns out wonderfully. It is the ending rather than the humor that makes it a comedy.

You must decide whether you will live life as a tragedy or a comedy. The story that Jesus offers you is a comedy. Scripture tells you the end, and, if you have put your faith in Jesus rather than in yourself, it is your end too. Jesus wins. His justice prevails. His love is seen for what it really is – boundless and irresistible. Our unity with him exceeds our imaginations. We will see that life was much more purposeful than we thought. Everything we ever did by faith—because of Jesus—stands firm and results in “praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” Knowing this, of course does not blot out sorrow. But knowing the end reveals that sorrow and death don’t win. For those who know Christ, life and joy are the last word.

PRAYER:

This is an Anglican Prayer of Thanksgiving.

Blessed are you, Lord our God.

How sweet are your words to the taste,

sweeter than honey to the mouth.

How precious are your commands for our life,

more than the finest gold in our hands.

How marvelous is your will for the world,

Unending is your love for the nations.

Our voices shall sing of your promises

and our lips declare your praise.

Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Blessed be God for ever. Amen.