And They Lived Happily Ever After…

If I was writing a fairy tale, this would be an excellent stopping point, with a standard conclusion:

And they lived happily ever after. The End.

Jesus, however, doesn’t promise a fairy tale, happiness ever after.  At the heart of the Christian gospel (which, by the way, means ‘good news’) is a crucified Savior – misunderstood, despised, rejected, betrayed Son of God, handed over to the authorities by those who claimed to know, speak and work for God. Denied by one of his closest friends. Abandoned by God the Father.  It is this Jesus that calls us to follow Him. One step at a time.  Wherever it leads.

So, where is the good in such ‘good news’? For, unless we are in complete denial, we would all acknowledge that there is no such thing as ‘happy’ crucifixion, ‘happy’ betrayal, ‘happy’ suffering, ‘happy’ death. Some of us have bought into the well-advertised illusion that the goal of our lives – stated or unstated - is ‘pursuit of happiness’. Sooner or later, however, we will encounter a problem that brings into question ‘the happily ever after’.  When we do, we will either ignore the reality of pain by avoiding it at all cost, anesthetizing ourselves with whatever we can lay our hands on, reenacting the illusion of the fairy tale; or we will distort the integrity of the whole counsel of God's Word by picking and choosing only what fits neatly into our sanitized paradigm.  Or both.

At one point during His ministry (in fact, one can say almost at its peak), the Lord Jesus uttered some hard sayings that turned out to be too much for the genteel sensibilities of his hearers.  As a result, many of His disciples left Him. (John 6:66) As if that wasn’t enough bad news, He turned to the Twelve and asked them if they wanted to leave as well. 

Now, when I read this, it sure doesn’t look to me like the best marketing strategy for building up your platform. In fact, it’s downright disastrous.  Peter’s response far from offering gung-ho, strong, reassuring commitment, is at least honest in its ambivalence.

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life?

Lord Jesus, there are things in Your way that are really, really hard to swallow.  Part of me wishes there was another way, an easier path. But, I realize that sometimes life as is, is hard to swallow, period. And, on our own, we can make it even harder than it needs to be. But, You, You lift our heads to higher horizons.  You connect the dots for me.  You make suffering, even crucifixion, fit into God’s larger-than-life plan, and I would rather stick with You – life and death, joy and suffering, crucifixion and resurrection-, because You alone have words that breathe life and light into my soul.