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Spoiler Alert

I have had some extra time to read books lately. While I allowed myself a short break into the world of fiction, I have also been reading Recovering Redemption by Matt Chandler and Michael Snetzer. Here's a quote:

For unlike the rest of humanity, Christians are not confined to grief responses that can never do anything but make us die a little more each day: trying so hard to act like we're not sinners, or to act like our sin is not really a big deal - at least not as bad as it seems when we're the most bummed out about it.
But, yes, it is.
It's bad. Majorly bad. 
(Emphasis mine)

If we stop to consider this, it makes sense. For those of us who live on this side of the greatest sacrifice in all of history, Jesus is like the greatest spoiler to a story where we can know the end. Yes, we're sinners. But we know Jesus came to die for our sins.

Because we know the solution from the start, we minimize the problem.

But imagine life before Jesus walked the Earth. They lived through years of offering sacrifices, attempting to live out the details of a Law they hoped would make them clean once again. But I imagine, in order to feel real hopelessness, we'd have to go back to the Garden of Eden, before Adam and Eve had a conversation with God.

Can you imagine it? Can you imagine the dread when they realized they had broken God's one rule? Picture the fear, when you realize you have disobeyed the One who made you, who gave you everything and gave you ultimate freedom, save for one rule. No wonder they hid when they heard God's voice.

But we don't live with that fear. Because on the very day we understand our sin, we are also told about the rescue. Unlike many parents, who tell their children to go wait while they think of a punishment, we are now offered both problem and solution in one moment.

If God had told me what was coming next right when He told me it was time to leave my job, I would have missed out on a lot of learning. There would have been no faith at all in that. Certainly, I had my assumptions, like another ministry position would be offered quickly. When the assumptions ended, the learning began. And thanks to God's patience with me, I'm still learning.

I had a teen in my youth ministry who, whenever I would quote from Revelation or teach about Heaven, would put his hands over his ears and cry out, 'Spoiler Alert! I haven't read the end of the book yet.' Yes, he was the senior pastor's kid, and he was joking...I think. But he knew what we all know.

Spoiler alerts can ruin the experience , which is why God takes His time revealing his solutions. So be patient and enjoy where the Author of your story takes you each day.


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