Living in Half of the Story

²²When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. ²³They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life." And the disciples were filled with grief. – Mt 17:20

Jesus speaks to his disciples, telling them that he is going to be killed and raised to life.  The disciples were filled with grief.  Why? They only heard half the story.  Naturally they would be shocked at the thought that Jesus would be killed, but there had to be some comfort in the fact that he would be raised to life.  When they listened to Jesus, I wonder if they heard "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.  They will kill him and blah, blah, blah . . ." 

They only heard half the story.  The front half.  The worse half.

How many times do we hear half the story?  Maybe we are living in the first half of the story.  We are filled with grief because we think that is all there is. 

Yesterday a friend emailed me and said her Dr just informed her that she has breast cancer. Devastating news.  We are now living in half the story.  That half fills us with grief.  It’s the second second half of the story that I am pulling for.  It’s the half that the disciples didn’t hear, it’s the half that we can’t see. It’s the half where God pulls off miracles.  It’s the half where he makes his name famous.

I’m pulling for a great second half, even if all I currently see and hear is the first half.

photo by duchamp