You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

April 19, 2022

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus. As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.  

- Acts 8:34-40

This past week we skipped doing a newsletter. We were out of town and visiting our son’s college of choice. Down in the deep south, on the Gulf of Mexico - yes , the weather was wonderful!

During one of the very few silent moments to reflect we caught ourselves thinking about how we were beginning the process of setting our last child out to sail into the unknown waters of life - that’s an appropriate analogy as he will be majoring in Marine Biology. As parents - and I think we could all agree - one of our primary tasks is to prepare our children to leave us.

It’s also something that SHOULD be happening in the body of Christ, in his church.

What do we mean by this? One of the major problems which has prohibited church growth is that we have forgotten we were commanded to “Go.” Even ministers and preachers…we have gotten it wrong. So much energy and time is consumed on creating “congregations” - a word that is the opposite of “Go.” To congregate means to gather…and that seems to be where we are most happy. Together. Assembled. You know, congregating.

And yet, from the Tower of Babel until now, the command is to “Go.” “Go into all the world and preach the gospel,” Mark 16:15.

But, leaving causes pain. Saying, “Goodbye” or even, “See you later,” brings a twinge of hurt.

Look, there is nothing wrong with getting together. It is one of the most important aspects of our lives as humans - community. In the church, however, we are to gather together so we may better learn how to “Go.” Then, we come back to celebrate what God has done while we were apart. It’s what occurred in Luke 10 when the 72 had gone out and then returned: “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” So, He told them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven," Luke 10:17&18.

Missy and I can speak honestly about how painful it can be when you have poured yourself into someone or some family and then God calls them to leave. To move. Or, when God calls us to leave one ministry and move to another where he is calling us. Both are painful. Both cause stress. Both create hurt. That said, to “Go” should be as natural as breathing for the “follower” of Jesus. You saw that, right? “Follower.” Sort of implies that we are to follow - to go after.

As we realize our son is “going” and “following” his path it is a not so gentle reminder that we are all part of a transitory existence. Our lives are brief. “Everything is dust in the wind.”

In James’ letter we read: ‘Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that,”’ James 4.

In Psalm 144 David writes: “A human is like a breath; their days are like a passing shadow.”

This should all point us toward being more grateful for our time together.

Take time with your family and friends today. Play games. Take a walk. Send a handwritten note. Make that phone call. Get in the car and pop in for a visit. Purchase that gift and hand deliver it if possible. Bake some oatmeal cookies and drop them off at our house…chocolate chip for Missy.

Life IS fleeting. We are all going to say, “Goodbye.” But, followers of Jesus know full well that saying “Goodbye” also means at some point in the future we will once again say, “Hello.”

So, in July, when we have to head back down to Alabama for our son’s orientation at South Alabama, we do so knowing we are continuing down a path where separation is unavoidable. But, hey, how else could we get to experience God’s promises and beauty if we did not trust him to take care of us and those we love?

A final word: some of you reading this have had to say “Goodbye” to loved ones - or maybe you are in the midst of that difficult time. Just remember, that “Goodbye” is not final. After all, isn’t that what the resurrection is all about?

I Corinthians 15:50 - 57: “Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: 

“Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?”
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable.”

In the immortal words of Jeremiah Rankin: “God be with you (till we meet again.)”