When you know the ending

Occasionally I re-read books. Not every book works with re-reading, but some do. At the moment I am re-reading The Lord of the Rings. I've reached a dark bit, but because I know the ending, even though I feel for the characters, I am not sad really. If I could speak to them, I would say "press on, little ones, it will be good!". However at these same passages on my first reading I myself was filled with doubt and fear as to whether it would all be good. It must be a bit like that for God watching us. The hardest chapters of our lives are given extra significance for him - he knows the strength of character to be forged from this battle, the outcome to be won from that, and he knows when our struggle against a particular thing is 5 minutes from breakthrough. I wonder how many times he has longed to say to me, in the midst of fear and pain, "press on, little one, it will be good"...

Sometimes when you talk to a friend you know the ending. You know that God will rescue them, that he will bring unimaginable joy out of their deepest pain. It doesn't mean that you don't feel their sadness, and that you aren't saddened by it, but it does give you a different perspective. I think this is why Jesus wept at Bethany. 

5.8.07 15:50