Sorrowful Goodbyes

Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 20:41, As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so.

Saying “goodbye” can be a very emotional and sorrowful experience. Any time we part and say “goodbye” we never really know if we will see that person again. Quite often we take it for granted that we will see that someone again, especially in our everyday comings and goings. James 4:13-15 reminds us, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’” It is for this reason that I am adamant about never leaving home without letting my loved ones know how much I love them and how much they mean to me, even if we are not happy with one another at the moment. David and Jonathan were closer than brothers. This was a very difficult departure, but more so for David. Jonathan would be going back to the palace to serve his father, while David would now begin a life of being on the run, away from his family and all that was familiar to him. Some of us may have experienced this kind of sorrow, maybe even in our service to the Lord, where we were called, like Abraham, to leave the life we were familiar with in order to serve God on the mission field. Some of us may have relocated because of work, or any other number of reasons. In our having to relocate, we may have had to leave people we knew and loved behind, not knowing if we would ever see them again. David and Jonathan would not meet again until just before Jonathan’s death (1 Samuel 23:17). Knowing that life can be so uncertain, and knowing that the only Person who knows whether we will be here later today or tomorrow is the LORD, why would one put off calling upon Jesus and accepting Him as their Savior? Jesus told us in John 3:18, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Why are we condemned if we reject Jesus today? Because we are not guaranteed tomorrow. The saddest goodbye we will say in this lifetime is the one when a loved one goes on to eternity before we do. For a person who never trusted Jesus, their departure is the most painful for us who have called on, and know, Christ. A person who rejects the Lord and goes on to eternity without Him is eternally condemned to both Hell and eventually the Lake of Fire. Sadly, we do not hear that too often today in much of the preaching we hear. On the other hand, those who do know the Lord and depart from us, we know are with the Lord forever more. Even though their departure from us is sorrowful, we can rejoice in knowing that their departure is temporary and that one day we will be reunited. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 give us this hope, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.” If there is any motivation in our lives at all for being bold in our willingness to share Jesus with others, it should be that our loved ones and those we know do not perish. Saying goodbye to those we know and love can be both a time of sorrow and rejoicing, but only if we know that they have departed and will be safe in the arms of Jesus.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).