"The Rest of the Story"
April 26, 2018
The rest of the story.
You don't have to be a genius to know, quite often, there is a rest of the story.
For example, on May 9, 1957, a 23-year-old pilot, Lieutenant David Steeves, took off from Hamilton Air Force Base near San Francisco. Somewhere between there and his destination he disappeared. A search was made, and neither he nor his Lockheed was found. Eventually, his mother received a death certificate and Steeves' mourners tried to get on with their lives.
But there is a rest of the story: 54 days after he had disappeared, Steeves walked out of the Sierras.
He told of how something had exploded in his cockpit, how he had parachuted to safety. People were glad; at least most of them were. You see, there is a rest of the story.
A nation that was worried about Communism started to wonder. Some suggested Steeves had sold the jet to Russia; others said he had sent it in pieces to Mexico. No charges were ever brought against David Steeves, but he left the military under a cloud. Eventually, Steeves became a commercial pilot, but his free time was spent in the wilderness, looking for his plane. Steeves died in 1965, never having found the wreckage of his jet.
But there's more. There is a rest of the story.
In 1977, 12 years after Steeves had died, some Boy Scouts hiking in King's Canyon found a cockpit cover: a cockpit cover whose number matched Lieutenant David Steeves' lost Lockheed jet.
The rest of the story.
The Bible is filled with stories which should have ended but didn't. The story of Adam and Eve should have ended with them being expelled from the Garden of Eden. The narrative of Moses should have ended with him remaining a shepherd of the Sinai. But there was a rest of the story, and by God's mighty hand, His people were delivered from slavery. The tale of Noah should have ended with the flood; the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego should have concluded with them being toasted in the fiery furnace; and the account of Daniel should have finished in the lions' den.
But in each of these cases, and in many more, there was a rest of the story. By God's hand, and often in a miraculous way, God spared His representatives, and they accomplished a divine purpose; they made a godly witness. God's grace brought about a rest of the story.
As I read through the Gospels, there are so many times when Jesus' story should have ended, when His life -- if it had been a movie -- would have concluded with the words, "The End." Herod tried to kill Him. He could have been murdered by the super-strong Gerasene demoniac or thrown off a cliff by the folks of Nazareth. The Pharisees hatched numerous plots to take His life. No, there should have never been a rest of the story for Jesus.
But there was. It was a story which had Him live a perfect life during which He fulfilled the Law and resisted every temptation. His rest of the story had Him fulfill prophecies and carry our sins to the cross where He died. Jesus' rest of the story even includes how He defeated death with His resurrection.
Yes, Jesus had a rest of the story and because He did, so do we. For all who believe on Him will not perish but have everlasting life.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, because of Jesus, I am living a story of faith that will never end. For my eternity in heaven I give thanks, doing so in the Savior's Name. Amen.
