“There will never be a complete arch of our characters. We as writers create happy endings because we want happy endings. But we will never find that thing we are all looking for.” A lecturer remarked. It would be quite depressing to have their mindset. "There will never be a happy ending. That’s just something we made up to make ourselves feel better.” Commented a student. Does the ultimate happy ending exist? What if life, all our loving and hating and trials and joys, was pointless?
“if the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.” – CS Lewis
Think about it. Both secular and religious storytellers adopt this mold when the villain is caught, the child is rescued, and the king is crowned. We are programmed to expect the finale, the conclusion, the award ceremony. Not merely because we have had it modeled in entertainment; we genuinely expect justice, reward, and payback. Maybe because it is coming.
This thought hit me during the day the lecturer drilled it was a mere rhetorical device. I was ready to stand on my chair and explain why I believed in happy endings. And then…
“Question twenty: What is your idea of perfect happiness?”
It was my turn to answer. The seated selection of six represented continents, each holding a place at Oxford, shifted.
“My idea of perfect happiness is complete satisfaction: knowing I am right with God.” I told the truth.
But “Ah, very nice,” passed the tutor, and class continued, unmoved.
The student is right: those who have chosen a life apart from God do not have satisfaction, so they make up happy endings to make themselves feel better. Life is going to end bad and there is nothing they can do but write dark stories and live immorally because nothing matters in the end. But it does not make sense that humanity should live short lives in a mass delusion only to die unfulfilled. CS Lewis observed, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
People are unsatisfied because they filled their hunger void with “plastic confectionaries” and not a “hot feast.” We have “… not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the Lord.” (Amos 8:11) The worst part: many people are not willing to give up their short-term sin for a long-term relationship with God. Not only will it cost them life satisfaction, but their entire eternity will be apart from God. But if you follow God, get your hopes up:
“God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied.” (Luke 6:21)
“The godly can look forward to a reward,” (Proverbs 11:23)
“Tell the godly that all will be well for them. They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!” (Isaiah 3:10)
'“…he who sits on the throne will give them shelter. They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”' (Revelation 7:15-17)
If we want a happy ending to our character arches, if we want true satisfaction in our days and for all eternity, consider the final conclusion by the wisest man who ever lived: “Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
The question is not ‘does a happy ending exist?’ but ‘is my story going to end ‘happily ever after?’
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“All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the Lord gave them rest from their enemies on every side.” (2 Chronicles 15:15)
“I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?” (Psalms 42:2)
“The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.” (Psalms 27:4)
“'This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus... Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!” ' (Revelation 14:12-13)
*The lecturer and student’s words are paraphrased
Yes! Get your hopes up! What kind of God do we serve, and what kind of life does he have for us? He is the epitome of wonder. His plans for us are nothing but what is true, good and beautiful.