No More Goodbyes

Saying goodbye is my least favorite thing. And my honorary “niece” agrees
with me.

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Last year, my husband and I bought a house with our dear friends from
college—the parents of our aforementioned niece. We wanted to live in
community and save money, and it has been such a joy for our two families
to live together.

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While we were in the process of buying the house, we were still living in
separate apartments, and I was babysitting my niece while her mom worked.
On one particular day, when it was time to go home my niece burst into more
tears than usual. We had been having so much fun together, and she didn’t
want it to end.

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She was too little to understand, but I was desperate to find a way to
comfort her. “Little one, I have good news for you!” I said. “Pretty soon,
we’ll be living in the same house.”

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It really reminded me of Jesus’s promises to us. As Christians, we rest in
two great promises: (1) that Jesus Christ is always with us, constantly
present in our lives, and (2) that He will return someday to make all
things new. Jesus is present with us even on the worst of days through His
Spirit, His Word, and His people. And when Jesus returns bodily to restore
the world, we will dwell forever with Him and our siblings in Christ on the
new heavens and new earth. Then, we will be free from the sadness and
brokenness sin introduced into our world. Free from the heartbreak of
goodbyes.

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In Christ, no matter what we face, we can trust that our future is secure.
Even death can’t separate us from God’s love because our Savior beat sin
and death when He died on the cross and rose from the grave. Now that’s
good news! 

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• What kinds of changes or disappointments have you experienced lately? How
can the promises from today’s reading give you hope for both the future and
the present? (If you want to dig deeper, read John 14:16-23 and Romans
8:38-39.)

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• If you want to learn more about what it means to know Jesus, check out
our “Know Jesus” page.

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I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now
among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God
himself will be with them.” Revelation 21:3 (NLT)

Read Verses:

Matt.28.20|Rev.21.1-Rev.21.5