The Front Porch Swing

"All’s Well that Ends”

For those of you who have hung around me over time, you know how I like to misquote and twist familiar sayings. “All’s well that ends” is one of my favorites. In fact, it has become my philosophy of life. I suspect if there is a celebration of my life after I have taken my final breath, somebody may share this memory. 

Of course, I realize the original proverb, or whatever you wish to call it, had one more word to complete the thought. I have had numerous persons try to correct me or to help me by adding the word “well.” Sometimes it feels like they are just trying to be courteous by helping an old man with a memory problem. But, honestly, I prefer my shorter version not just because it gets their attention, but it truly does reflect reality.

Anybody can say, “All’s well that ends well.” It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. We all like knowing a project or an experience ended well. I prefer winning over losing a game. I selfishly prefer winning by a large margin- none of that “by the skin of your teeth” stuff for me!

Saying “All’s well that ends” is not simply trying to act like a “Smart Alec.” (Yes, there really is such a word in the dictionary with the connotation of being arrogant or a show off.) Perhaps that was my original motive when I first starting leaving off the word, “well”. As a child, I was often (or attempted to be) a Smart Alec. I had a quick tongue and sometimes received the board of education on the seat of knowledge to convince me to change.

Recently I discovered a very wise man who agrees that “All’s well that ends.” Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 7:8, said it this way- “The end of the matter is better than its beginning.” Now, with just a bit of loose hermeneutic I think Solomon is saying, ”All’s well that ends.” No matter how it started or how something progressed or failed to progress, it always ends, and that is good. So even if it ends good- I win by doubling the score on my adversary- or if it ends poorly- I get skunked, either way the game is over. I can leave the field to lick my wounds in private, and that is better than listening to their cat calls and taunting.

But, I ask for your patience as I try to demonstrate that “All’s well that ends” is not only biblical, but it is an appropriate philosophy as a follower of Jesus Christ.

In three more weeks I hit the big 72. I realize how few years I have left to invest or to waste. No longer do I assume Jesus will return before my name is listed in tomorrow’s obituary column. But, whether I live to a ripe old age and keep my mind (what is left of it) or whether I die tomorrow or whether I become a victim of Alzheimer ’s disease, the endgame is great. Paul, writing from prison and expecting to literally lose his head, declared that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord which is far better.”

The prophet Habakkuk, facing the severity of the Babylonian siege, and feeling how unjust this was, sang,

“Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,

Though olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,

Though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stall,

Yet, I rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my savior.” – Hab. 3:16b-18

Habakkuk could compose this song because he knew “The Sovereign Lord” was his strength.” He believed that all would be well no matter the circumstances or how it all ended. He knew that the “Lord was in His holy temple” so the whole earth should be silent before Him or trust Him.

Didn’t Jesus also teach this principle? “Why”, He asked, ”should we worry about tomorrow if we know Him who knows the endgame and marks the fall of the sparrow? Why fret about the lack of food in our pantry or clothes in my closet if our Father in Heaven feeds birds and wraps the lily in splendor?”

Life is a journey. Some days it is just flat out tough to just hold on. Some days life may be like a bowl of cherries (for Forrest Gump a box of chocolates or for me, Oregon strawberries or cashew nuts). My life and your life is a story being lived out moment by moment. No matter how my life began or how today began, someday it will all be history. I can choose how to live each day. In Paul’s words in Philippians 4, I can choose to worry about the “what ifs” that may never happen or I can choose to trust God. I can complain or I can give thanks in all things. Paul trusted God, like Habakkuk, to bring good things out of life's difficult experiences. Didn’t God promise this in Roman 8:28? Not everything that happens is good. Some experiences in life just plain stink; others are excruciating painful. But, for Christ followers, it always ends well.

Isn’t that the big story throughout Scripture? Things started off really well in the garden. Then sin entered and everything has been negatively affected. The rest of the Bible is God working through every event in history to accomplish His ultimate purpose- His endgame.

When I read the book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ, especially the final chapters, everything sin and Satan defiled will be made new. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. Once again God will dwell among us like He did with Adam and Eve. No more tears to shed. No more pain. No more funerals to attend. No more final goodbyes. All will be new!

It doesn’t get any better than that. So, like I said, “ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS!”  And it will end very, very well! Perhaps, very soon. Wouldn’t that be good?

Oh, yes, how do you like the picture taken on our 50th anniversary. It has been 50 wonderful years with a few tough days mixed in, but what are they when "All's well that ends?"