If it is not alright, it is not yet the end

In my Easter sermon, I used an illustration that I suspect many savvy pastors around the country used. It was taken from the movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I watched it several weeks ago when I was stuck in a hotel far from home. Then, this past week, in preparation for my Easter sermon, we watched it again.

If you have not seen it, I commend it to you. More important than the movie, though, I also commend to you the attitude of the young man in the story who is trying so desperately to resurrect the Marigold Hotel. It was his late father’s dream, and the youngest son is working hard to make the dream come true for his father’s sake and for his own.

When his first customers arrive they find the creaky, dusty hotel is not at all like the vision he has sold them in the brochure and online. They are stunned, and, when one of them complains vociferously, the young entrepreneur assures them that work is not yet finished. He is using all his resources to keep them happy and to persuade an investor to loan him the funds to make his vision a reality.

To the disgruntled guest, he says a phrase that is used three times in the movie. It is a message they seem to be afraid we will miss. It is a message that should captivate every believer, but that too often we miss. In the face of repeated disappointment, the young man says, “In India, we have a saying; everything will be alright in the end. So, if it is not alright, it is not yet the end.”

Well, in case you missed the movie or the message, on behalf of the God of resurrections, I want to tell you: Your life may not match your all dreams or live up to all your ambitions, but God’s work in you is not yet finished. “It will be alright in the end, and, if it is not alright, it is not yet the end.”

Philippians 1:6 says, “For I am convinced of this one thing: the One who began a good work in you will carry it through to completion.” In other words, God isn’t finished with you yet. It will be alright in the end, and if it is not alright, that is because it is not yet the end.

Blessings,

By Rev. Michael Piazza