It’s Over.
Two little words.
Or is it three?
Or maybe two and a half?
Doesn’t matter – but lets call it three – since it’s really a contraction of “it is over”.
And, as we’ll see at the end, there’s some symmetry and significance to the number three.
I always feel like context is important.
In this case – what is it?
Depending on what it is – wildly different emotions may come up.
It’s just like the word aloha. You may already know – it means two very different things. It can mean either hello or farewell – depending on the context. A snapshot of two people saying aloha can’t tell you which one it is. Whether hello or farewell – aloha can make good friends cry, again for very different reasons. Aloha / hello – because they are happy to see each other again. Aloha / farewell – because they don’t know when or if they’ll see each other again. It’s only by adding the scenes before and / or after that snapshot of saying aloha that we can tell whether the tears are happy or sad ones.
I originally wrote this back in October, 2011. It’s now July, 2017. Lots of changes since then. I’ve said some aloha / hello’s – and many aloha / farewell’s. It’s interesting to go back and update what I’ve written from time to time. Hopefully it shows growth. But I know that’s not always true. We all slide backwards sometimes. Not admitting that is like saying aloha / farewell and trying to convince ourselves that it was aloha / hello to our best friend. I often feel like I learn more from my failures to grow than I do from the successes in growth. Why? Because the growth actually comes as part of the process of learning from the failure. And a failure to acknowledge failure means that we fail to grow. That’s a whole lot of failures – and we learned absolutely nothing from them. Even there though – and I speak from too much experience here – when we finally acknowledge all of those failures, the potential for growth is amazing. It reminds me of what Paul wrote –
2Co 12:7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
In Paul’s case, failure to admit his own weakness and Christ’s strength would have resulted in Paul being unable to do all the great things he did – through the power and strength of Jesus.
As I go through this article, I’ll continue to add new thoughts in text like this.
And now, back to the original.
If “it’s over” has something to do with sports – there will probably be either joy or sorrow – depending on whether your team won or lost. Or maybe no emotion at all – if you don’t care about the teams or even the sport. But – assuming that you have some interest in the event – you will have some emotional response to that event being over.
What brings these three little words to mind was a song I was listening to.
It’s Over by Roy Orbison.
In this case – it was a song about a relationship that was over:
Your baby doesn’t love you any more.
Golden days, before they end,
Whisper secrets to the wind.
Your baby won’t be near you any more.
Tender nights, before they fly,
Send falling stars that seem to cry.
Your baby doesn’t want you any more.
It’s over.
It breaks your heart in two,
To know she’s been untrue.
But oh, what will you do,
When she says to you,
“There’s someone new.
We’re through.
We’re through.”
It’s over, it’s over, it’s over.
All the rainbows in the sky
Start to weep and say good-bye.
You won’t be seeing rainbows any more.
Setting suns, before they fall,
Echo to you, “That’s all, that’s all.”
But you’ll see lonely sunsets, after all.
It’s over, it’s over, it’s over….
It’s over.
A relationship ending –
If it was a bad relationship – that could bring relief – hope – positive emotions.
If it was a good relationship – could bring sorrow – depression – negative emotions.
On the other hand – even if the relationship was bad – it could still bring anxiety and fear – over what comes next.
And – if it was supposedly a good relationship – given the words to the song – maybe it wasn’t all that good, but one party in the relationship didn’t realize it.
So we see – even in something like a relationship – context matters.
What one person sees and feels doesn’t necessarily line up with the other persons feelings about the same relationship.
In doing the research for this piece, I came across a quote attributed to Roy Orbison about this song –
Roy Orbison shed some light on this song when he spoke with the NME in 1980.
Said Orbison: “‘It’s Over’ is a lonely type song, but it’s not over if you listen to the lyrics very closely. Well, in fact it is over, but I don’t know it, and I’m telling everyone it’s over. I was trying to say that certain things are over before you realize it, before anybody realizes it.”
Now there’s some interesting context – even while we’re in the midst of something – we may not have correct knowledge of that thing. But then – in moments of honesty – after relationships break up – we can see that there were signs – we just chose to ignore them. Had there been communication – both people talking with each other (note the word “with” – not “to”) – it’s likely that the end could have been different. Maybe it wouldn’t be over – maybe it would have been over sooner – but either way the truth about the relationship could possibly have been determined earlier – and some pain / suffering could have been avoided.
Communication.
Honesty.
Truth in relationship.
And just think about the possibilities had we learned before it was over. In sports, the outcome, no matter how much we like to think we can affect it, is really up to the folks playing the game. But in relationships – it really is up to us – no matter how much we like to think it isn’t – that it was just the other person who was at fault. Failure to recognize that it takes two to form and to mess up a relationship most certainly has an effect on that relationship.
So – we’ve talked about sports –
and relationships with other people.
No doubt countless other events in our lives can also have this theme applied to them.
But – let’s take this deeper – and look at another relationship –
the one between us and God.
Those same three things are important –
Communication.
Honesty.
Truth in relationship.
Let’s consider this relationship –
The Sheep and the Goats
Mt 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Mt 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Mt 25:37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
Mt 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Mt 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
Mt 25:44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
Mt 25:45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Mt 25:46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
How’s that for some communication / honesty / truth?
Those three things can keep us from hearing the three little words
it is over
spoken to us – by Jesus – with a negative result.
Context matters.
In this case – it’s not context from our point of view that’s important.
It’s Jesus’ point of view.
Actually – let me rephrase that a bit.
It’s not what we try to tell ourselves that matters –
it’s what’s truly in our hearts that matters.
After all – that’s where Jesus gets His context from as we see in Matthew when He was talking to the Pharisees –
Mt 15:7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
Mt 15:8 “ ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Mt 15:9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’”
Maybe we think we’re doing OK –
we’re doing the right things –
but even here –
context matters.
Why are we doing those things that we think are the right things to be doing?
Jesus warns about this as well – as in Matthew 7:15-23 –
A Tree and Its Fruit
Mt 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Mt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Communication.
Honesty.
Truth in relationship.
Jesus makes things pretty clear – open communication.
He’s honest – this is the way it will be.
He speaks truth – He is Truth – about our relationship with Him.
“‘It’s Over’ is a lonely type song, but it’s not over if you listen to the lyrics very closely. Well, in fact it is over, but I don’t know it, and I’m telling everyone it’s over. I was trying to say that certain things are over before you realize it, before anybody realizes it.”
As long as we’re alive – it’s not over.
But – if we aren’t honest with ourselves about our relationship with God –
it could be over –
we just don’t realize it yet.
Communication.
Honesty.
Truth in relationship.
Wouldn’t it have been so much better to have examined the relationship between us and Jesus before it was over?
When it (our life on earth) is over –
what will we hear from Jesus –
“Depart from me…”
or
“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
This life will end –
but what comes next –
when this one is over –
that remains to be seen.
God knows what will come next for each of us.
The question is – do we know what comes next?
Do we communicate with Him?
Are we honest with Him?
Is there truth in our relationship with Him – including truth to ourselves?
When that times comes –
when we hear those three little words –
it is over
what three words will come next?
Depart from me
or
be with me
Everything above is about us / each of you reading this – and Jesus.
But what about the other people in your life that you care about? If you’re a Christian, and fully / honestly expect to be one of those invited to spend eternity in Heaven, let me ask you a question. Will your family, loved ones, and friends be there as well? Or will they be among those going to Hell – the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels?
Do you care whether or not your family, loved ones, and friends will be in Heaven with you? If you don’t, are they really loved ones? If it’s something you haven’t done anything about yet, or haven’t even thought about, I encourage you to check out Why didn’t you tell me? Then, ask yourself again about your relationships with your family, loved ones, and friends – and your relationship with Jesus.
When that times comes for our family, friends, and loved ones –
when they hear those three little words –
it is over
what three words will come next?
Depart from me
or
be with me