The Rest of the Story

When I was a boy growing up on the farm, the radio was my constant companion. Every morning at 4:30 AM and again at 4:30 PM, I stood in our milking parlor with 200 dairy cows lined up, the hum of machines filling the air, and the radio playing in the background.

One voice stood out above them all: Paul Harvey.

He was the master of storytelling. His voice carried authority and warmth, and he had this way of pulling you into a story with the smallest details. Just when the story reached the most important moment, he would pause, cut to a commercial break, and then return with his famous line:

“And now… the rest of the story.”

But one day, just as Paul Harvey was about to finish a story, my dad came into the parlor.

“Son,” he said, “it’s time to go.”

“Dad, please!” I begged. “Paul Harvey is about to tell the rest of the story!”

But my father just chuckled and shook his head. “No, son. We’ve got to go right now.”

I was crushed. That ruined my whole day. I kept replaying the beginning in my mind, but I never heard how it ended. Even now more than fifty-five years later I still wonder what happened. (Yes, maybe I still need counseling!)

Proverbs reminds us:

“The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.” Proverbs 18:17 (NIV)

Or in simpler terms: you’ll always be wrong if you only hear half the story.

And that’s the problem with so much of life today especially when it comes to God.

Just last week, I read a headline that said: “Americans are losing faith in God at an alarming rate.”

Why? I believe it’s because so many people haven’t heard the rest of the story the whole story of Christ.

I remember going to see a movie with a friend. I got there on time, but he came late. By the time he sat down, the movie was already halfway over.

All through the film, he kept whispering questions:

“Who’s that guy? What’s happening? Why is she upset?”

When it ended, I thought it was one of the best movies I had ever seen. But my friend? He shook his head and said, “I didn’t like it I just didn’t get it.”

Of course he didn’t. He had walked in halfway.

That’s how many people approach Jesus. They step into the story just before Christmas. They see a baby in a manger and think, “What’s the big deal?”

They don’t realize that manger scene was the climax of thousands of years of promises, prophecy, and preparation.

To understand the manger, you have to rewind all the way back to the beginning:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Genesis 1:1 (NIV)

And even in those early chapters, God was pointing to redemption:

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”  Genesis 3:15 (NIV)

This is the rest of the story. From the very beginning, God was weaving a plan that would one day lead to Christ.

That’s why the manger wasn’t random.

The cross wasn’t an accident.

The empty tomb wasn’t a surprise.

It was all part of God’s story from the start.

Paul explained it like this:

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.”  Galatians 4:4–5 (NIV)

That’s the rest of the story.

When you see the full picture, everything changes. The baby in the manger was the promised Savior. The man on the cross was the Redeemer. The empty tomb was the victory of God over death itself.

When you hear the whole story you don’t just get it. You get Him.

And that makes all the difference.