Feb. 20, 2008
From the Associate Pastor . . .
Have you noticed that filmmakers have recently begun to release more than one ending to a particular movie? Apparently, offering alternative endings is a way to boost sales when the movies are released on DVD.
I’m not a fan of this new approach. I’m usually muttering out loud, "So, which one really happened?" or "Did it end happily ever after, or did they all die?"
It is not that I have trouble distinguishing truth from fiction; I know that none of the endings really happened. Rather, I can't help believing that the end of a story is the most important clue to its meaning.
Imagine a murder mystery with multiple endings in which different characters are discovered to be the culprit. This would make all of the hints preceding the murderer's disclosure meaningless.
Or imagine a great romance with different endings; one version ends with the hero and heroine marrying each other; another version ends with the hero marrying someone else. The sense of satisfaction--that these two were destined to be together, that all of the conflict and obstacles of the plot could not stand in the way of the inevitable--would dissolve.
What really lies behind my frustration with multiple endings is my belief that the best writers have an end in mind from the beginning. They have the privileged vantage of being able to see how the story ends, and it is their responsibility to tell the story in a way that prepares the audience for the conclusion.
This doesn't mean that they give the ending away; some of the very best stories have surprise endings. But even with a major plot twist, great stories leave their audience nodding their heads, realizing that the story couldn't have ended any other way.
This is the sort of story that God is weaving through human history. From our vantage point, we can already see that He is a master of foreshadowing. He has given us some idea of how the story will end . . .get a copy of Pastor Caines’ sermon CD from this past Sunday morning if you were not there. We know that it won't just taper off, but that there will be a final climax in which evil is soundly defeated, the saints are ushered into the very presence of their Lord and all is set right. But we can't see exactly how in the midst of the [His] story we will get to that point.
God, on the other hand, knows exactly how this great drama of history will end and all points leading there. He reminds us of this: I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please (Isaiah 46:9b-10).
Once we finally reach the end, we will see how masterfully every step in human history has led to that moment, how the end has been building since the beginning. God's story will be revealed in all of its glorious purposefulness, and we will have no desire for an alternative ending, once we see what He has in store.
Pastor Mullinax
Prayer Emails
Pastor Mullinax will send the "prayer mails" from now on. If you have any prayer requests to be shared, please send them to Pastor Mullinax at emullinax@covenantchattanooga.org. Mark Wilson will still handle most CPC info mails.