When the end finally comes.

     Living with a sense of the eminent "end" is either exhilarating or devastating.  There seems to be no middle ground.  The "end" of an era, age, event, or incident all leave an impression upon us.  So much so that we transfer that feeling or impression on future endings even though they haven't even happened.  Some people live in that "worst case scenario" world while others live in the "Cinderella scenario."  And yes I know some people haven't a clue and don't care.  Such were the mindsets of the masses over the centuries when slow change took over their lives and eventually decimated them.  By the time "clues and caring" took place the "end" had come and there was nothing they could do about it.  Finality is fluid.  This finality depends on the person and situation.  Some resign themselves to the final whatever while others fight the finality until their last breath. 
     Then there are those situations where the "finality" or the "end" is a relief and welcome.  Remember that time the pastor droned on and on and people were falling asleep?  He thought he was saying something but you heard nothing? How about that history lecture at college or the early morning commute to work?  For some people and situations the relief of the end is enough to wish for it.  Ask any clock watcher at 5 PM and watch their reaction to the day being done.  The end can't come soon enough in a situation where there is awkwardness or embarrassment.  Sometimes a host has the sense to end a get together due to the hostility that may have erupted over some religious or political discussion.  Bars close at 2 AM for a reason.  Amen is said for a reason.  Goodbye is said for a reason. 
     When the end finally comes we all want to be able to move forward and not look back.  Regrets occupy so much of so many peoples lives.  Wishing, wanting or waning, our lives are attached to the past.  Yet, there is nothing any of us can do to "go back and make right" that which was wrong or ended wrongly.  The family whose child dies in a car crash has finality thrust upon them and there is no more time.  The husband or wife who is suddenly abandoned has finality thrust upon them over which they often have no choice.  The refugees who flee one country with nothing but the clothes on their backs face the reality of not only loss of possessions and country but identity.  The drug addicted who chooses one more line, one more hit, one more needle suddenly wakes to find all that was good in their world gone.  Finality comes to all of us.  Finality is all around us.  Whether you are burying your pet lizard or Grandma, finality is there.
     The disciples were all with Jesus for 3 years.  During that time he repeatedly told them that there was an end coming.  He told them about the suffering he must suffer.  He told them the manner of death he must die.  He told them they would be hated, persecuted, and killed because of their belief in him.  He told them that he would die, rise from the dead and ascend to heaven.  He told them that in their Christian life there was to be a LOT of finality.  BUT!  But he told them that he would be with them always, that he would send them the comforter and that they would share in eternity with them.  He told them he would go before them, that he would work wonders through them and that they would be strong and build the church.  He told them they would have a place in heaven that he would build for them.  He told them that he would take care of all their needs.
     Jesus told his disciples, believers through the ages and you and I that we could look forward to finality in a positive manner without regrets.  He told us to live this way as a testimony to his grace and forgiveness to us.  That's why God remembers our sin no more.  That's why God throws our sin far from us as east is to west.  That's why God is always looking "down the road" instead of back at the road.  The finality of our lives is a process that is ongoing.  We are saying hello and goodbye all the time.  We are entering into and out of all the time.  We are facing the rewards of the future all the time.  So, why do we fear?  Why do we regret?  Why do we look back?  Why?  Because we either believe God or we don't.  We either live as forgiven or we don't.  We either believe the promises or we don't.  We either have confidence or we don't.  That is why we do what we do.  It's your choice just as much as it is mine.  When the end finally comes will you be ready?  That's the important question.  Nothing else matters.  Nothing.