Happy Ending

“All’s well that ends well.” So said Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon.

And we desperately want it to be so. To end well and be happy.

In just a few days, the moment high school seniors have anticipated for months will arrive. Graduation. A time for happy endings.

Despite it being a time of celebration, some will be disappointed. They expected, hoped and planned to graduate, but at the last minute came up short.

An assignment, a grade or a credit short—the reason doesn’t really matter. A miss is a miss. “An inch is as good as a mile.”

However, even those who “made it” are in for a surprise. Happiness fades. The spotlight moves to someone else. The daily grind resumes and life returns to normal.

Life chews you up. Life spits you out. Next please!

If all you live for is the moment, it’s gone in a flash. And the mountaintop high can suddenly become a Death Valley low. Talk about a roller coaster life!

Well hold on just a minute. What’s wrong here?

Does anyone who pursues happiness in this life ever catch it? Sometimes. But it’s as fragile and fleeting as Bob Lind’s “Elusive Butterfly.” Did you ever hear that old sixties song?

It was one of my favorites. A song that resonated with many people. Chasing love or chasing happiness—both seem to escape us when we desperately want them the most.

The truth is this: Life lets you down. It disappoints everyone. Even when you get your hands on the brass ring, you discover it’s tarnished.

It’s only when we get to know the God of the Bible that life begins to make sense.

God’s Word tells us that even good people experience difficulty. “A righteous man may have many troubles but the Lord delivers him from them all.” And “though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.”

What makes the difference? A right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Bible says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

It doesn’t say that God works good into all things. It says he works all things together for the good of those who love him. Right relationship results in a happy ending.

The journey may be difficult, but when life is over it ends well for the child of God.

When your life is over, what will you find on the other side? Many see no reason to believe in God. They gamble their eternal destiny for a few moments of brief pleasure.

Instead, consider Pascal’s wager.

The great scientist, mathematician and philosopher reasoned, “If I am wrong about God existing, then neither of us would even know it, because we would both die and cease to exist, and all consciousness would disappear. But, on the other hand, if I am right and you are wrong, when we both die, I will go to heaven, and you will go to hell. Now, it seems to me that any intelligent person would bet on the right side of that wager.”

Look down the road. We’ll all be dead much longer than we live on this planet. That’s a “sure thing.” And when you run the numbers, wisdom instructs us to plan for eternity.

Will you see a happy ending? All’s well that ends well--as long as it ends in heaven!

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!