Goodbyes

Warning: This one has some humor but deals with serious subject matter.

There’s certain things in life a person never really gets used to no matter how many times we face them. Death is one of them.

In my line of work, I deal with hard subjects pretty regular, and one of the hardest is walking with families through loss. It never gets easy. Doesn’t matter if the person was ninety-nine years old and expected to pass or if it comes sudden like a lightning strike on a clear day. Grief has a way of sitting down heavy in a room.

I’ve stood beside a lot of caskets through the years. I’ve preached funerals for friends, church members, people I grew up around, even my own mother and father. So somewhere along the way you learn how to hold yourself together. You learn how to comfort others while quietly carrying your own burden.

But oddly enough, one of the hardest losses I ever dealt with was a bird dog. Now some of y’all already understand that, and some of you are rolling your eyes thinking, “Boy has finally lost his mind.”

But if you’ve ever owned a good dog, especially one that spent years beside you, you know they become more than just an animal. They become part of your everyday life. My shorthair Kindle was one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever owned. She always had to be touching somebody. If you sat down, she was leaning against your leg. If you walked outside, she followed you like she had official supervisory duties over the property.

As she got older, though, age started catching up with her. Arthritis, pain, trouble getting around. Eventually she couldn’t stay inside anymore, but I fixed her up a nice place outdoors and still spent time with her every day. At first she still wanted walks. Then she just kinda lost interest.

And let me tell you something, when a German shorthair quits wanting to run, buddy, the warning light is officially blinking.

It finally got to the place where me and the vet both knew she was suffering. And as hard as it was, I knew it wasn’t fair to let her hurt just so I could avoid hurting myself. Faithful companions deserve kindness too. Proverbs 12:10 says: “A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast…”

So we scheduled the appointment.

I thought I had myself under control. Walked in acting tough. Told the vet I’d stay with her. Sat there beside her rubbing her ears while she struggled with pain. Then the vet gave her the shot and Kindle just peacefully laid her head down like she was falling asleep after a long hunt.

A minute later the vet quietly said, “She’s gone.”

And buddy… I absolutely came apart.

Not one of those dignified little tears either. I mean ugly crying. Snot slinging. Shoulder shaking. Full emotional system failure. The kind where you hope nobody opens the door because you look like you lost a cage fight with your own feelings.

And afterwards I sat there thinking, “What in the world is wrong with you?”

Because I’d buried family members. I’d preached funeral after funeral. Yet somehow this little dog hit me in a way I didn’t expect.

After thinking on it awhile, here’s where I landed. Some folks may disagree, and that’s alright. You’ve got every right to be wrong.

I believe Scripture teaches mankind alone was created eternal in the image of God. Genesis 1:27. Animals are part of God’s creation, and I believe Heaven will contain creation restored like Eden once was, but I don’t personally believe I’ll see Kindle again specifically. For her, that goodbye was final. Honestly, there’s part of me relieved about that too because if every deer, squirrel, fish, rabbit, quail, pheasant, and coon I ever harvested and ate showed up in glory, I’d spend eternity getting stared down.

The reason many funerals I’ve preached carried sorrow mixed with peace is because those people knew Christ. So I knew one day I would see them again. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.”

Notice Paul didn’t say Christians don’t grieve. He said we grieve differently. Why? Because for the believer, death is not a permanent goodbye. It’s a temporary separation before all believers have a reunion in Christ.

Jesus promised in John 14:2-3: “I go to prepare a place for you… I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

The Bible says for those saved by grace through faith, there’s coming a day with no more sickness, no more suffering, no more funerals, no more hospice calls, no more wheelchairs, no more cancer, no more tears. Revelation 21:4 says: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death…”

And that burdened my heart because there are people walking around today who, if they leave this world today, would experience an eternal separation from God. Meaning as a believer I wont see them again.

You see, mankind is eternal. We will spend eternity somewhere. And that’s why salvation matters so much. The Bible lays this out clearly through what many call the Romans Road.

Romans 3:23 says: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

Every one of us is guilty before a holy God. Sin isn’t just the shocking sins people point at publicly. Sin is pride, lust, lies, greed, hatred, rebellion, selfishness. We all stand guilty.

And sin carries a consequence.

Romans 6:23 says: “For the wages of sin is death…”

A wage is something earned. Sin earns death and separation from God. That’s why we need saving. We cannot fix ourselves. Church attendance can’t save us. Good deeds can’t erase sin. Religion alone cannot rescue us.

But here’s the good news. The verse continues: “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, died on the cross for our sins and rose again so sinners could be forgiven.

Romans 5:8 says: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Christ didn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up first. He died for broken sinners exactly because we could not save ourselves.

So how are we saved?

Romans 10:9 says: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Salvation comes through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone. Trusting Him as Lord and Savior.

And Romans 10:13 gives one of the greatest invitations in all Scripture: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Whosoever.

That means anybody. The church kid. The addict. The doubter. The proud man. The broken woman. The religious person pretending everything’s alright. Anybody can come to Christ.

And friend, that’s why this matters. Because one day there’ll be a final goodbye over every one of our lives. Somebody will stand at a funeral home. Somebody will cry. Somebody will tell stories about us after the meal.

But for the child of God, death is not the end of the story.

So today if you don’t know Christ, don’t put that off. Because the greatest comfort in life is knowing that for those saved by grace… its just a See ya later.