1LoverofGod
Well-known
You may remember the television newscaster who had one of the most memorable sign-off lines in American broadcasting: Walter Cronkite, who would end the CBS Evening News by saying, “And that’s the way it is.”
While Cronkite’s two-decade run as a network news host was amazing, another broadcaster—this one on radio—was active for nearly six decades and had multiple memorable lines to his credit. Once established and popular, he began every news broadcast the same way: “Hello Americans! This is [name]—stand by for NEWS!”
And depending on whether it was his midday broadcast or his evening broadcast, he would end each the same way: “[Name]—good day!” or “[Name]—good night!” And rather than reveal the name of someone who had done something criminal or offensive in the news, he would substitute a long, silent pause before moving on.
If you are of a certain age in America, you know exactly whom I am talking about: the legendary Paul Harvey. From 1951 to 2008, his radio broadcasts were heard by some 24 million listeners each week on 1,200 radio stations, 400 armed forces stations, and printed in 300 newspapers. He had the perfect voice for radio: deep and rich, with impeccable timing, flavored with whimsy and a smile.
Though Harvey’s trademark style was legendary, there was one phrase he used that became iconic. From 1976 until his death in 2009, Paul Harvey hosted a series called The Rest of the Story—stories with plot twists and turns unknown to the public at large. And no one could tell a story with a surprise ending better than Harvey.
Americans waited for the last punchline sentence, followed by a trademark pause, then the famous words: “And now you know… the rest of the story.”1 (I can hear those words even as I write!)
What does “the rest of the story” do for us? It provides answers to questions; it releases tension; it provides background and context. But most of all, “the rest of the story” provides the end of the story.
Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. When we know the beginning and most of the middle, we live with a measure of tension and anticipation until the end is revealed. Not having the end of the story revealed is like reading through a gripping novel full of mystery and drama only to discover that the last chapter has been torn from the book! We are desperate to find out “who done it,” as they say, and can’t get relief until we know.
The Bible is such a story—God’s story of redemption and reconciliation. We know the beginning stages (chapters) of God’s story, and we are living in the “middle” chapters right now. But what about “the rest—the end—of the story”?
Read more:
The Rest of the Story: The Hope of Bible Prophecy
When we know “the rest of the story,” it doesn’t matter how troubling the middle chapters are. When the Author has given us a copy of the last chapters to read ahead of time, we can make more sense of the past and present parts of the story.
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