I became a fan of The Andy Griffith Show after it originally aired in the 1960’s when many stations began the reruns. One thing that fans know now is this: Many scenes, including the epilogue, were cut to allow time for commercials. When the show began to come out on VHS tapes and then later DVD’s, those omitted scenes and epilogues were included. For some of the episodes, the epilogue changed everything. They were a new revelation and almost as sweet as a hoped for lost episode.
Even though TAGS was a fictional story, there is a lesson we can learn about real life and the afterlife: We must always keep in mind how things are going to end, that is, the epilogue. If Christians lose sight of the how things are going to end, they can become weary and discouraged. Being a Christian is hard. The work of the church is hard. Living for Jesus and working together as a church requires sacrifice, discipline, commitment, and just plain hard work. Sometimes we wonder if it is worth it all.
Paul penned these words to the church in Corinth, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (I Corinthians 15:19) The hope and reward for the Christian is not for this life, but for the next life. While the Lord does bless His children with some rewards in this life, our real reward will be in Heaven.
Some now consider America to be in the post Christian era. I think we all agree the moral standard has been lowered. Things that were once considered wrong are now “right”. Evil seems to prevail on so many fronts. Unless you become discouraged and your heart grows faint, turn to the epilogue of the Bible, the book of Revelation. It changes everything.
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”
From “Christmas Bells” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow