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Rescue

We win! Thought it would be good to start with the finish line.

Now the era of DVR not only lets us skip the commercials (not the Super Bowl ones!) and experience the event even if we missed its live occurrence. BUT…it also creates a new tension. Someone who actually SAW the live program may slip up and tell us who won and by how much they won, BEFORE we get to live through the tension of the game ourselves. #Bummer #notcool

Not everyone wants to know “how it ends” before they have enjoyed the anxiety of mystery and tension of resolution. I actually discovered a number of reasons why reading the last chapter of a book before reading the book IS a good idea.

1. Lowers blood pressure…lifts the unnecessary anxiety level
2. Lets you know if it is “safe” for the kids to read or see
3. Heightens the intrigue as you try to figure out HOW it is resolved this way

Notice what a glorious beginning the Bible has? Incredible beauty, environmentalists dream world, and a relational paradise for the family. Perfect in every way! But suddenly it becomes messy. No…REALLY messy! Trees raped of their leaves to provide artificial coverings. Blood-soaked soil as animals die so people can be clothed. The “welcome” mat pulled from the doorway and armed guards placed in its place. And sibling rivalry ends in disaster, the devastation of death! Fast-forward just a few pages and the whole mess gets an unprecedented scrubbing. The Creator washes away all the ugliness of the shameful marring of what had been His finest work to date, only to have the whole fiasco begin all over again just chapters later.

• Talk about elevated blood pressure!
• Talk about whether the kids should be reading this thing or not!
• Talk about intrigue!

I couldn’t take the pressure, so I jumped to the end of the story. The beauty is back. The naked innocence has returned. The home is a joyous residence of peaceful harmony. Death’s reign has been terminated. The gate is opened and unguarded. The “welcome” mat is back in its place. It’s Paradise all over again! I read the end of the story and I found out We Win!!!

I was just reading the opening of the story in Matthew this morning. It started out, “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel (which means, God with us).” Hmm…I wonder how THIS story ends? No DVR on this one. Betting I will jump ahead and read…

See you Sunday, Church!

Pastor Tom