No More Goodbyes

<p>Saying goodbye is my least favorite thing. And my honorary “niece” agrees with me.</p><p>.</p><p>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.</p><p>.</p><p>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.</p><p>.</p><p>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.”</p><p>.</p><p>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.</p><p>.</p><p>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! • Kandi Zeller</p><p>.</p><p>• 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.)</p><p>.</p><p>• If you want to learn more about what it means to know Jesus, c