My wonderful, sweet, wife loves ‘those’ Hallmark movies, especially the ones that come on around Christmas time. I try, I mean I really try to watch them with her (to be a good husband), but my goodness, the plots are just so predictable. Perhaps that’s the attraction to them, in a world full of uncertainty and chaos, it’s a bit of rest and hope that the movie’s plot is quite predictable. They usually go something like this: The main character, living in NY city, goes home to a small town for Christmas. There’s a former high school sweetheart still living in the town. Ironically, they are both still single. The main character, the girl from NYC, saves the family farm as the guy who stayed in town got hired to work on fixing the front porch steps. They fall in love, but not before there’s about five-minutes of slight uncertainty, misunderstanding, and drama…but, it’s all quickly resolved and they live happily ever after.
Even though there’s a few minutes of drama, we never get too stressed watching; because we know it’s Hallmark and it always ends well. I’m not sure who writes most of those movies, but as they say in the South, that’ll preach! That certainty of the end in the midst of turmoil is one of the most applicable message-threads throughout God’s word. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah was ready to give up and just die. But an angel told him to get up and eat for he had work to do and Elijah went on to anoint Kings, begin mentoring Elisha, and made a great impact for God. Jesus, time and time again, had to refocus the Disciples -as they were so easily distracted- that their trouble is temporary, and their work is eternal. And, how many times throughout Scripture does the story line seem like it’s about to go bad, and then God steps in and does the extraordinary? Well, there’s Moses, Joshua and Caleb, Gideon, David, Esther, Nehemiah, and so many more. Ultimately, the greatest trust and hope we have in a great ending is the finished work of Christ on the cross and through His resurrection. See, life really is just a big Hallmark movie if you KNOW, really KNOW, what the ending is. Yes, there’s heartache, real hurt, trouble, and ups and downs…but in the end, our stresses and fears are temporary if we know Christ. Just wait until HIS Hallmark ending! If you want to know more, contact us at info@wdcxradio.com
