A True Happily-Ever-After

By F. D. Adkins

He lurks in the shadows waiting… watching… listening for the perfect moment. His narrow gaze fixes on the young woman as she sits on the side of the bed and stares down at the phone in her hands. A single tear trickles down her cheek and falls onto the screen.

Now, he tells himself. He whisks from the darkness just long enough to let a whisper penetrate her thoughts. “No one cares.” In a blink, he slithers back to the shadows with one side of his lips curving up. He knows he made progress.

She lowers her head with those words repeating in her mind. No one cares. No one cares. Her body trembles. The phone tumbles to the floor, and she buries her face in her hands. With a smirk, he watches her cry, and as her shoulders quake with every sob, he holds his head higher and higher basking in his success. But he isn’t finished yet. Tomorrow he will cut a little deeper. Soon, he will have her believing that she truly is all alone.

***

Red hearts and dozens of roses fill the aisles. Restaurants are packed as couples celebrate the day of love. But sometimes, the enemy can use this day to get a foot in the door, so to speak, seeking to make some feel alone just as he did in the fictional story above. That is why I want to share the ultimate love story… the one with the promise of a happily-ever-after ending.

This love story is summed up in John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (KJV).

But let’s take a deeper look at the scripture that describes just how much Jesus loved us. And as I detail a few verses, let’s remember that Jesus was without sin. He had done nothing wrong. Everything that happened to Jesus in the following verses was done out of love for us. He came to earth, took our place, and endured the punishment for OUR sins.

• Jesus was whipped. “Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.” Matthew 27:26 KJV
• Thorns were placed around his head, and they laughed and made fun of Him. “And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!” Matthew 27:29 KJV
• They spit on Jesus and hit Him. “And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.” Matthew 27:30 KJV
• He was given vinegar to drink. “They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall…” Matthew 27:34 KJV
• Nails were driven through His wrists and His feet, and He hung on the cross held by those nails ripping at his flesh under the weight of His body. “And they crucified Him…” Matthew 27:35

Jesus did not have to endure the humiliation, the suffering, or the gruesome death. He did it because He loves you, and He loves me.

So, when the enemy tries to make us feel alone and unloved… remember the ultimate love story… remember how much Jesus loves us. He sacrificed His life for us… all we have to do is accept His sacrifice. And how can we not accept that kind of love? There is none greater.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

John 15:13 KJV