The Final Chapter...

Every life is a story.

Some chapters are loud and joyful. Others are quiet, painful, or confusing. Some we wish we could rewrite. But all of them every single one are moving us toward a final chapter.

And here is the question I want you to sit with, not just for a moment, but in prayer this week:

What will your final chapter be?

Will it be a chapter written with God…

or one where God is only a footnote or absent altogether?

The truth that should both comfort and unsettle us is this: your final chapter has not yet been written. As long as you are breathing, God is still writing. The pen is still in His hand but He will not force the page. He waits for your cooperation, your surrender, your “yes.”

Too often we live as if the story is already finished.

We say things like, “This is just how I am,” or “It’s too late for me to change,” or “I’ll get serious about God later.” But “later” is one of the most dangerous words in the spiritual life. Later assumes time. Later assumes opportunity. Later assumes we are in control.

Scripture tells us otherwise.

The final chapter is not about how much we accumulated, how busy we were, or how successful we   appeared. It is about who we loved, who we served, and whether we gave ourselves completely to God in the ordinary, hidden moments of daily life.

Holiness is rarely dramatic. It is formed in patience when we want to snap. In forgiveness when we want to hold a grudge.

In prayer when we feel dry. In choosing love when selfishness would be easier. And here is the beautiful part: the journey itself can be loving.

God is not standing at the end of your life with a checklist, waiting to condemn you. He is walking beside you now, inviting you to love the journey toward Him to fall, to get back up, to trust again, to begin again. Saints were not people who never failed; they were people who never stopped returning.

Your final chapter will not be defined by your worst chapter. It will be defined by your last direction. Each day you wake up, you write a paragraph. Each choice you make adds a sentence. Each act of love, repentance, and trust writes the language of grace into your story.

So ask yourself honestly:

If my life ended today, would my final chapter clearly say “God was at the center”? Am I giving God what’s left over or giving Him everything? Do I love the journey toward God, or am I resisting it? The good news the Gospel news is this: today can be a turning point. A new chapter can begin right now. God specializes in redemption, restoration, and surprise endings filled with mercy.

The final chapter is coming. But it is not finished. Write it with God. Walk the journey with Him.

And when the story is complete, may it be said not that we were perfect but that we loved Him, trusted Him, and gave ourselves completely into His hands.

Blessings,

Deacon Mike