Robert Browning’s poem, quoted in my previous blog, is often misquoted as, “Come along with me. The best is yet to be.” To me, it sounds like something Jesus might say, especially during holy week. I imagine as the disciples headed toward Jerusalem they were remembering the initial call of Jesus. Echoing within themselves were the words, “Come along with me. The best is yet to be.” When they arrived in Jerusalem to the triumphal entry of waving palm branches and shouts of hosanna, the disciples were inwardly saying to themselves, “Yes. Here it is. We have come this far with Jesus and now the best is happening.” The teachings, the healings, the miracles were all leading up to these glorious moments when Jesus would be recognized as king and the disciples would live the easy life of the chosen elite. Of course, no one would ever imagine how the week would unfold.
Amidst predictions of death and suffering, the best is yet to be. In the garden of Gethsemane, the best is yet to be. With the a kiss of betrayal and the crows of a rooster, the best is yet to be. On the cross at Golgotha, the best is yet to be. In the darkness of the tomb, the best is yet to be. Surely the disciples huddled in fear doubted the possibility that anything good could come from the crucifixion. But yet we know that it is in the cross that the best is yet to be. Jesus died for our sins and conquered death 3 days later. In life and in death, the best is yet to be. This is the message of Easter.
And so it it for all of us. Because of Jesus we live knowing that the best is yet to be. Whatever challenges we face in this life, whatever we accomplish or fail to do, heaven awaits us. Happy Easter. The best is yet to be!
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