Reunited with Loved Ones: Long, Long Time

“they would never see his face again” Acts 20:38

Reunited with Loved Ones

One day, believers will be reunited with loved ones they've had to say goodbye to here on earth.

Have you had a friend, or even someone in your life whom you’ve met, that you wanted to spend more time with but know your time is limited. Maybe it’s a friend or family member who has moved away or even passed away. The person I’m thinking of is Jaco Booyens (Yako Boo-yens) who was a mentor to my sister Brooke at AMTC and came and spoke at our church. I got the privilege of going to lunch with him and his family. He exuded such a magnetic presence, I remember my dad telling me, he’s like a modern day Apostle Paul. He truly is. Jaco is not only the kind of person you want to be around but the kind of person you know will challenge you to strive higher. It’s been 7 years since I’ve seen Jaco and I don’t know if I’ll ever seen him again, this side of Heaven anyway. But, I know how the presbyters at the church of Ephesus feel when “they were all weeping loudly as they threw their arms around Paul and kissed him, for they were deeply distressed that he had said that they would never see his face again.

Then they escorted him to the ship” (37, 38). I feel the same way about not being able to visit my grandmother or going to the movies with my good friend, Bill Corle. While it does make me sad, I can’t or won’t be able to see these people again, I bookend those feelings with assurity of Jesus’s words, “But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away (John 16:7a) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am (John 14:3). And as Paul reminds us, as Christians we are one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28) therefore we will all be together again. But in the meantime, always improve the present moment.