My Venezuelan sister-in-law quotes her father as always saying, ‘Turn the Page. Keep Reading.’ It means a lot coming from her, and him, as they have faced much hardship and severe trials in their country, yet they continue to have hope.
It’s a broken, broken world. But, there’s much left to live, so many battles still to fight and a lot of work to be done. There is also hope to be found, joy to be had, love to be known. So keep reading.
Why?
1) We will know a grand story. There is a new page a turn away. Where today is written grief, pain or sadness, tomorrow is written healing, redemption and true happiness. There’s actually a rider on a white horse coming whose name is Faithful and True. We cannot begin to imagine what we will know One Day. And we will turn those beautiful pages for eternity.
2) We will take up the pen. In some parts of the story, it seems to all be happening to us. It is as if a hand we do not know is writing over our life and this whole world. But the next page comes crisp and fresh. It is ready to be written upon with our own strong hands and read with eyes that delight in what they see.
3) We will find surprises. If a story is abandoned too quickly, the best parts are missed. It is true with our lives too. If we stop reading in the midst of a hard, even horrific, chapter, we’ll never see what is gained and the strength which comes. We will miss the heart of the hero or heroine (which may very well be us;) who overcomes the darkness. And most, we will miss the power of God at work.
4) We will worship. The beauty of our stories and this world’s story is that they are God’s. He is the True Author and what he writes is good. When we keep reading we see far more than we can imagine. We see promises fulfilled. We see the glory of redemption. We see bad turned to good. We remember the cross and the great love of God for us and we worship.
5) We will live. The front page news is discouraging to all of us. But there is always another chapter. Another story. Keep reading. In so doing, we doggedly pursue hope. We believe that God is still greater and the work of Jesus more powerful than any darkness. We find the strength and resilience God longs to give his children. And we live.
Keep reading friend. The page that brings it all together may be read tomorrow. Or next year. Or in ten years. Or in Heaven. But as we keep reading, we will move closer to the resolution of the beautiful story God is writing. We will find that golden grains of wheat fallen to the ground yesterday are growing up and bearing fruit today. We will find an unshakable hope and the presence and reality to God.
Are you turning to a new page? Or are you stuck on the hard things of this page?
