The Story Isn’t Over

Welcome to Our Daily Bread. I'm Sheridan Voisey and I've called our devotion today, The Story Isn't Over. When British drama Line of Duty concluded, record numbers watched to see how its fight against organised crime would end. But many viewers were left disappointed when the finale implied that evil would ultimately win. I wanted the bad guys brought to justice, one fan said. We needed that moral ending. Sociologist Peter Berger once noted that we hunger for hope and justice. Hope that evil will one day be overcome and that those who caused it will be made to face their crimes.

A world where the bad guys win goes against how we know the world should work. Without probably realising it, those disappointed fans were expressing humanity's deep longing for the world to be made right again. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus is realistic about evil. It exists not only between us, requiring forgiveness, but on a grand scale, requiring deliverance.

This realism, however, is matched with hope. There's a place where evil doesn't exist, heaven, and that heavenly kingdom is coming to earth. One day, God's justice will be complete, his moral ending will come, and evil will be banished for good. So, when the real-life bad guys win, and disappointment sets in, let's remember this. Until God's will is done, on earth as it is in heaven, there is always hope.

Because the story isn't over. Today's scripture reading is from Matthew chapter 6 verses 9 to 13. This, then, is how you should pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today Our Daily Bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Heavenly Father, thank you for the realism of this powerful Lord's Prayer.

We know that some religions see evil as just a mirage, but you tell us straight that it's there and it's wrong. But thank you also for hope. Today, when it seems like evil is winning, we trust in your power and perseverance, knowing that you will bring justice in the end. So, Lord, today, may your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth, in our streets, in our neighborhoods, in our towns and our cities, in the troubled regions of the world, in just the same way as it's done in heaven. We pray this in Jesus' powerful name. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.