It's So Hard to Say Goodbye
Have you ever noticed how awkward and painful goodbyes can be? I moved last week, so I said a lot of goodbyes to a lot of people. Some of those people were close to me; some were mere acquaintances—but none of the goodbyes were easy. Leaving people, especially if you know you're never going to see them again, is such an odd experience.
God made people to be social, to live in communities; so we spend a lot of our time getting to know others and building relationships. We're always asking questions about people, getting to know them better, investing in them—from people as close to us as our family members to those as distant to us as the person we've just met sitting next to us on an airplane.
Then you have to say goodbye, and all that investment is down the tubes.
You've developed a friendship, and it's hard when that friendship ends. We've all felt it. There's the agony of losing someone to death whom you've known your entire life; and there's the slight twinge of regret at not being able to see a co-worker again. No matter how big or small the relationship, there's always pain at the end of it.
I had a buddy in college who was thinking about this as he was saying goodbye to everyone he knew right before graduation. He said that he thought this pain he was feeling every time he said goodbye was a sign that God never intended it to be this way. God originally wanted people to be in community for all time, a never-ending group of friendships that continued on for eternity.
Unfortunately Adam ruined that for everyone, and he caused the first and most painful relationship separation in history—the separation between God and us. That is the disconnected relationship that all these separated relationships point back to. When you feel that ache of pain the next time you say a goodbye, you're feeling an echo of what must have been the most excruciating relationship break in the history of the world.
The beauty in it is that no goodbye is permanent among Christians. God didn't let the relationship break that Adam caused keep us separated from Him forever. He sacrificed His Son so that we could regain that lost relationship with Him and enjoy it for all eternity. Not only that, but we can enjoy the relationships we've already started to develop with our fellow Christians here on earth.
God made people to be social, to live in communities; so we spend a lot of our time getting to know others and building relationships. We're always asking questions about people, getting to know them better, investing in them—from people as close to us as our family members to those as distant to us as the person we've just met sitting next to us on an airplane.
Then you have to say goodbye, and all that investment is down the tubes.
You've developed a friendship, and it's hard when that friendship ends. We've all felt it. There's the agony of losing someone to death whom you've known your entire life; and there's the slight twinge of regret at not being able to see a co-worker again. No matter how big or small the relationship, there's always pain at the end of it.
I had a buddy in college who was thinking about this as he was saying goodbye to everyone he knew right before graduation. He said that he thought this pain he was feeling every time he said goodbye was a sign that God never intended it to be this way. God originally wanted people to be in community for all time, a never-ending group of friendships that continued on for eternity.
Unfortunately Adam ruined that for everyone, and he caused the first and most painful relationship separation in history—the separation between God and us. That is the disconnected relationship that all these separated relationships point back to. When you feel that ache of pain the next time you say a goodbye, you're feeling an echo of what must have been the most excruciating relationship break in the history of the world.
The beauty in it is that no goodbye is permanent among Christians. God didn't let the relationship break that Adam caused keep us separated from Him forever. He sacrificed His Son so that we could regain that lost relationship with Him and enjoy it for all eternity. Not only that, but we can enjoy the relationships we've already started to develop with our fellow Christians here on earth.
posted by Editor at 12:46 PM
3 Comments:
A great post, Chris! I think you did an excellent job capturing this relational phenomena we've all felt to varying degrees.
You know, if it weren't for the eternal hope we have in Christ, life would be so bleak. For all relationships will inevitably end on this earth. Even the sacred marital vows, "Til Death Do Us Part" acknowledge the future separation awaiting every couple.
Thank God for our hope of everlasting life found in Jesus, the resurrected Savior.
What a great reunion that will one day be TOGETHER! Let's bring more people to join it!
Pierre Eade
www.christiangrowthnetwork.com
Well said! My dad recently completed a journey with Parkinsons and Cancer and was called Home at the end of May. God was gracious to provide time and opportunity for family and friends to say their goodbyes (for now). In his final days, our family reflected upon the reunion he would soon enjoy with family members and friends who would be there to greet him.
While the family circle on earth has been changed, so has the family circle in Heaven!
I have a good buy coming up in a month or so, and already I feel the impact of the sadness creeping up on me. However, I have realized (and it's encouraged me) that every 'good buy' for me, means a 'hello' for someone else; Someone else who will have the joy of having the person in their lives for a time, and they don't even know that is heading their way yet. Kind of a bitter-sweet experience, but then it also opens my life (and heart) for new hello's, and so we journey.
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