The Long and Short of Separation

“The long and short of it” is an American idiom, said when one wants to get directly to the point of something without giving details. I’d like to do that with the idea of separation. When he was alive, my father and I attended a host of athletic events together. Occasionally, when an athletic event ends in a surprise victory for the home team, I still reach for the phone to call my Dad and share the celebration. Then I remember, he is gone, and I grieve once again. Why do Christians grieve at the loss of a friend or loved one to death? Most would answer, “separation.” Granted, we believers do not “sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13), but we nonetheless sorrow. We sorrow because we miss the departed, and the younger the grieving one is the longer seems the separation before they are united again. But why does the departed one not grieve? Basically the new arrival in heaven is no longer subject to time or space. “There will be no night there” (Rev. 21:25; 22:5) and if there is no night in heaven, it is one continuous day. So even if the departed one does sense the loss of earthly friends and loved ones, they do not grieve for long because to them, we will simply arrive later in the day.

Join me in remembering the following global concerns:
• Pray for the Days of Hope for the City of Warsaw on June 14 and 15 when the city hosts the Franklin Graham Festival of Hope.
• The first leaders from Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, MS are selling their home and moving to launch a new church in White Rock (metro Vancouver), Canada. Pray for favor with the immigration officers they will deal with as they arrive in mid-June.
• As you pray for peace to return to Ukraine, pray for the families in eastern Ukraine who are making the difficult decisions to relocate women and children.
• Give thanks for Lori’s safe return to Mali.