I don’t know about you, but I hate goodbyes! They stink! It leaves you feeling empty, abandoned, lonely and missing something really important. I don’t care if it’s a goodbye for a day or a week or a month or a year, etc….I just don’t like them. I could go into the myriad of reasons for this detestation toward partings, but I’ll spare you the grief and share with what kinda makes me weirdly excited about goodbyes. What? Yeah, it’s something that I’ve just been thinking about today and it’s really helped me with saying goodbye to those I love. Here I go...

I am extremely comforted in the fact that God, my heavenly Father, was willing to say “Goodbye” to His Son Jesus. I was reminded of this today as I was studying for Sunday’s message. Paul wrote in Galatians 4:4, God sent His Son! That blows my mind and it chokes me up and it fills me with so much hope. Why? I’m certainly glad you asked otherwise this would be pointless. Follow me now…God was willing to send His Son into a foreign land where He would ultimately be treated with so much contempt that the people of this foreign land would murder His Son. That is love! Yes, indeed, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son!

But this would be fuzzy comfort without this further thought. In saying “Goodbye” to His Son, God knew (because He planned it this way) that He would see His Son again in only 33 ½ years. WOW! In other words, the separation was temporary, yes painful, but still only for a relatively short time in comparison to eternity!

Here’s my point, yes, I actually have one this week…Now whenever I say “goodbye” to someone I dearly love, I know that if they are in Christ I will one day see them again. The separation is indeed painful and it still leaves me feeling empty, abandoned, lonely and missing something really important, but I know that I will see them someday. I will see them in a place that is not hostile to faith and grace and love and God. The tragedy and real pain only comes when I say goodbye to those I love who are not in Christ. I will never see them in heaven and that really does give me pain. Remember, God so loved that He gave His only Son, but the verse goes on, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. Eternal life is only given to those who BELIEVE. God’s love demands a human response and that response is faith. Faith is what gets us back together forever. And in heaven there are no “goodbyes.” Now that’s AWESOME!!!

This just has me thinking this week…I hope it does you too!

Love Ya Lots!

I don’t know about you, but I love Thanksgiving! Is it the food? Yes! Is it the extra day off? Yes! Is it the leftovers? Yes! Is it family? Yes! (Not in any order of importance or priority.) For me it’s all these things and even more. Time and space will not allow me to let you know why this is simply one of my favorite days of the year. I want to unpack the meaning of Thanksgiving a little bit for us this week so that we will be better equipped to have an unforgettable Thanksgiving.

For many people Thanksgiving is just a long weekend filled with people, food and football…nothing really more and nothing really less. For the genuine believer this weekend is a reminder of what we need to give thanks for throughout the year. Giving thanks is not just an expression we should return when the good times roll and our team is on top, no giving thanks is something we do that is not really dependent on the circumstances of our life at all. Let me explain…

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

As hard as it is, circumstances must not govern our giving of thanks. I don’t think there is anyone out there reading this that has had this last year pass perfectly. I realize that all of us have had some bad things happen; in fact, I would venture to say that for some, things have gone from bad to worse. In circumstances like these how can we give thanks for anything? The good things that have happened seem so distant and minor compared to the storm you might be experiencing right now. The problem is that our focus is wrong. We must look at our circumstances in light of the big picture. The big picture I like to look at is eternity. Look at what you have gone through in light of what God has stored up for you in heaven. Paul said it well,

No eye has seen,
No ear has heard,
No mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9)

I believe that what our heart is focused on is what determines whether or not we are going to be giving thanks this year or not. I have to ask, “Is my heart fixed on my bad circumstances or is it fixed on the God who rules my circumstances?” As we approach November 22, 2007 I pray that we will all give thanks for everything!

Grace & Peace,

Scott