Happily Ever After

           All of us have special books which have been handed down to us, and I'm no exception.  I'm thinking of a big red book of fairy tales which sat on a shelf in my sister's bedroom. Oh it had beautiful end pages and each story was illustrated with lots of detail.  To this day, if you were to ask me what the Pied Piper looked like, I could give you an exact description all the way down to his funny hat and pointed shoes.  Even when I see twisted old oak trees, I think of the pictures in that big red book of fairy tales I had as a child.

            And oh what wonderful memories that fairy tale book brings back: Daddy coming upstairs in the evening to help us girls get settled in; he'd reach for that book on the shelf and read to Kathy and me.  Hansel and Gretel...... Goldilocks and the three Bears... ... Little red riding Hood... Billy Goats Gruff.  (Do they read those stories to children anymore)?!  Those stories back then were classic. Classic tales of good and evil and the best part was always near the end of the story.... 

            My  father's voice would slow a little as he read those heartwarming words, "... and they lived happily ever after."  It meant Hansel and Gretel lived, and the old witch died... Little red riding Hood survived, and the nasty old wolf was banished... the goats had run of the pasture, and the old troll was never seen again.  It's wonderful to live happily ever after.

            And you know no matter how young a child is -- no matter what he believes about God and heaven -- every boy and girl instinctively knows what "happily ever after" means.  You don't have to teach them about it.  Children know, they realize that this world is, well, in a way, full of... wolves, trolls and big bad bears.  They are aware that things aren't quite right, that something's wrong with the world and we all want -- we long -- for that time when we will live happily ever after.  When the prince will finally kiss us and we will wake up from this strange dream and enter true happiness and joy for ever and ever.

            Almost sounds biblical, doesn't it.  Well actually it is.  The book of Ecclesiastes says that God has put eternity in the heart of man -- we can't exactly put our finger on it, but it's there: this itchy longing for eternity... this wanting everything to be "okay"... to live happily ever after.

            And friend, that's why Christianity is so satisfying, so fulfilling.  For only in Christ is every longing, every hope, every yearning for peace and well-being  fulfilled... only in Christ is the culmination of that classic struggle and the defeat of all things evil... to our wonderful Savior, all that is wrong with this world will be made right... we will no longer have to live in a world of evil and sin... the Prince of peace will be our King of Kings... indeed, in Christ we will live happily ever after.

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