8.31- So long

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 8.31-

So long                                   I Thessalonians 4:13-18                Jennifer Benson Schuldt

    My grandfather refused to say “goodbye”; he felt the word was too final. So, when we would drive away after family visits, his farewell ritual was always the same. Standing in front of the green ferns that lined his house, he would wave and call out, “So long”!

    As believers, we never have to say “goodbye” to the ones we love, as long as they have placed their trust in Jesus as their Savior and decided to follow Him. The Bible promises that we will see them again.

    The apostle Paul said that we should not “sorrow as others who have no hope”              (I Thessalonians 4:13), because when Jesus returns, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves and – together with the believers who are still alive – will meet the Lord in the air (I Thess. 4:15-17). We have confidence that one day in heaven there will be “no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying” (Revelation 21:4). It’s in that wonderful place that “we shall always be with the Lord” (I Thess. 4:17).

    Christians have the hope of an eternal reunion with Christ and with believing ones who have passed away. That’s why Paul exhorted us to “comfort one another with these words” (verse 18). Today, encourage someone with the hope that allows us to say “so long,” instead of “goodbye.”


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