The Ending is the Best Part

<p>I read an interesting Bible verse the other day: “The end of a matter is better than its beginning” (Ecclesiastes 7:8, NIV). Another Bible translation phrases it this way: “Finishing is better than starting” (NLT). I’m no ancient-language scholar, so I can’t go into the meaning of the original words and sentence structures, but this phrase captured my imagination...</p><p>.</p><p>As I was sitting eating a snack and thinking about this Bible verse, I wondered, "Why is the end better than the beginning? Or, why is finishing better than starting?"</p><p>.</p><p>When I’m working on a task, usually the goal is to complete it. The examples that came to my mind were a school assignment or a woodworking project. It makes sense that finishing these tasks would be better, and more satisfying, than starting them.</p><p>.</p><p>But something else with both an ending and a beginning could be a journey, even a hike. The end is better, not just because you’ve arrived at your destination, but also because of all the experiences you’ve had along the way. Similarly, the end of a good book is better than the beginning, because the story is now more dear to you, the reader, than it was on the first page when all the characters were still just strangers who were starting to introduce themselves.</p><p>.</p><p>As I mused about all these endings and beginnings, I started thinking about the Bible in this way. And I found it so hopeful, because if the end is better than the beginning, then the new heavens and the new earth described in Revelation will be even better than the Garden of Eden described in Genesis!</p><p>.</p><p>When Jesus returns bodily to earth and restores His creation, everything will be better than it ever was before, because God is bringing His plan of redemption to completion. Even though we were once far away from God, strangers because of our sin, He brought us near through the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 2:13, 19). God has been glorified through the death and resurrection of Jesus, and since we belong to Jesus, Go