I love a good story. The storyline can be from almost any genre–although I admit I’m not fond of “dark” undertones, the kind that border on outright suspenseful to scare me into a sleepless night if I’ve read far into the evening. A good romance lightens my mood or an intriguing mystery leaves me guessing answers to  “whodunit” questions or trying to solve clues along the way of cleverly written words. Yes, I love a good story, whether I’m reading, watching, or listening. 

I’ve done my good share of reading since learning how to enjoy a good book tracing all the way back to childhood. Books were the road ways and avenues to discovering a world full of fantasy…scientific discoveries….biographies of famous people from around the world…libraries were the “internet” of my early childhood and all through high school. I fondly remember my father driving me to a local library after dinner every few weeks so I could check out 4 to 6 books…our city had several libraries…they were magnificent. If I close my eyes I can still smell the aromas from leather bound books lining shelves that filled the large building…the “library quiet” that was taught as proper etiquette while browsing the variety of books…each one waiting to be chosen and devoured back home while curled up in a corner of the room, maybe under a blanket…waiting with each turn of the page for the story to continue unfolding until the last page..when the back cover is closed ever so gently over the words “the end”…

I remember telling my Aunt Em that my favorite word when reading was “suddenly”. Of course she wanted to know the reason. “Well”, I explained. “When the word suddenly comes along it means something exciting is going to happen!” Suddenly, a story can take a twist that catches its reader totally off guard and  continue to pull her or him deeper into the plot…keeping the reader curled in that corner until the words “the end” appear on the last page.

Turn the page of my thoughts thus far to the best book I’ve ever read..the Holy Bible….This book of books–66 in all–has come in scrolls…leather bound editions…paperback form…and is now available through smartphone apps or the Internet. One does not have to leave the comfort of home in order to read words scribed over the course of several thousand years. There are historical events recorded….poems to inspire and encourage….prophets to heed…letters to reveal past and future events…I would dare to guess that the resurrection account of Jesus is the one that tops anything that is fantastical…supernatural…mysterious or intriguing….

If I close my eyes and imagine that it’s late evening on Friday when Jesus’ body is being laid to rest in the tomb…those carrying Him and mourning His death are quiet. Gentle hands wash and wrap his tortured body. He is laid on a slab of stone…tears are wiped away as each one departs the cold darkness which are the only things the tomb has to offer….a huge boulder is rolled in front of the tomb’s entrance. To those “reading” the story, they thought they had closed the book’s cover over the words “The End”….returning to their homes, grief swallowing up life itself and energy, they lay their heads down…trying to sort out the day’s events and pray for rest to come.

And then….the sudden of all suddenlies happens! The security and strength of a huge boulder is no match for God’s resurrection power when the stone is removed from the entrance…the cold slab lays empty except for neatly folded burial clothes…a supernatural twist has taken man’s feeble attempts to kill God’s plan for salvation and instead, launches a movement that the world has never seen then or now, 2000 plus years later. The book covers of THIS story exploded….replacing the words “the end” with “the story continues”….and so it does….

God’s story is one of great beginnings and triumphal endings! His story transcends all time…the alpha and omega plan that is only attributed to Christ is His story alone.  He is present at the creation of the world and He remains for eternity’s time as described in the Book of Revelation.

Yes, I love a good story…and while I have ready many books over 60 plus years, I never tire reading or hearing about the events of holy week…a last meal with cherished friends…a trial under secrecy of night….public torture and humiliation leading to a gruesome death on an enemy’s cross…a tomb with a huge boulder…but the “suddenly” that came two days later and changed the world then and continues to shatter peoples’ lives every day…the kind of breaking and shattering that leads to love, healing, and eternity with Christ…a story that has no “The End”….the back page of this story says “Forever”…..