Saying Good-bye

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“This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.” — Acts 1:11

“They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” — Matthew 24:30,31

It’s hard to leave my grandchildren after a wonderful holiday together. The 4-month-old is too little to know, but the 4-year-old gets really sad when it comes time for me to leave.

So in saying my “good-byes” I typically start with taking time with her to recall all of the fun things we did together during our visit—going to the park, eating Thanksgiving dinner together, playing with baby sister, reading books, singing songs, etc. I don’t want her to forget those special moments we had during our precious time.

Next I give her a “charge”—I ask her to take good care of her mommy and daddy. . . to be helpful. . . to be sweet to her baby sister. I tell her how proud I am of her, how much I love her, and how I know she’s going to do a good job of all the things I ask of her while we are apart.

Lastly, before I leave, I tell her when I’m coming back again—for Christmas—and how wonderful that will be. And we’ll have so much fun being together again and doing fun things as a family.

Sound familiar? Perhaps before deployment you spent sweet time with each other going over all the good memories of wonderful times together. Then you gave a “charge”—to be careful, remember that they are loved, know that you’re grateful for them, and promise to stay in communication whenever possible. And of course you made plans for your reunion and spoke of how wonderful it’ll be to be back together again.

Isn’t this similar to what we experience in our Christian life as we wait and prepare for Christ to return? It’s an imperfect analogy. . . perhaps a simple illustration of a greater truth?

Didn’t Jesus tell us to remember?

“In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (I Corinthians 11:25,26).

Secondly, didn’t Jesus give us a “charge”—a “commission”?

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19,20).

And lastly, doesn’t the Bible tell us to look ahead to the good days we will have together when Jesus returns?

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).

“But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13)

“After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words” (I Thessalonians 4:17,18).

In both cases—our earthly farewells, and the period of waiting between Christ’s first and second coming—we see a time of remembering, a call to action, and anticipation of time together again. But this is where the similarity ends. After all, we are imperfect, our motives are suspect, our plans are unpredictable and we are not in control of our future. We can reminisce about the good times we experience together as friends and family, but we will often forget. We can declare promises to make good use of our time apart, but we often fall short. And we can talk and dream about our future together, but who knows whether or not that will really happen. Right?

Not so with God. He never forgets. And He never breaks His promises.

“He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever, the word He commanded, for a thousand generations” (I Chronicles 16:15).

“I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth” (Genesis 9:15,16).

And, as believers in Christ, our future together is a sure thing. He is coming!

“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:3,4).

“Behold, I am coming soon!” (Revelation 22:12)

And as the Apostle Paul tells us in I Thessalonians 4:18, “Therefore encourage each other with these words.”

He is coming again. . .May He find us faithful to be about His work until that day.

Questions to Share:

1. Why is it helpful to remember good times together before you separate during deployment? In what ways is it helpful to remember God’s faithfulness during tough times?

2. Why is it helpful to plan for special times together when you are again reunited? In what ways is it helpful to think about the glories of heaven even while we are here on earth?