All the Way to the Ship

All the Way to the Ship
Scripture Reading: Acts 20:13-38

“When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship” (Acts 20:36-38).

In Acts 20 Paul said goodbye to the elders of the church at Ephesus, where he had served the Lord for two years. “When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship” (Acts 20:36-38). We are going to kneel down and pray with them, we are going to cry together because we will miss them, and then we are going to accompany them to the ship.

I had never heard that analogy before- to accompany someone to the ship. It was such a good and timely word to me. How often does God ask us to say goodbye to people we love? Probably more often than we like! If you and I were having a conversation, I’m sure you could tell me about several loved ones whose ships are about to sail.

Sometimes we don’t get to say goodbye. Other times, goodbye is a process. How do we deal with the process of goodbye when our heart’s inclination is to pull away because it hurts too much?

They are not the only ones God is calling to obedience. He has a task for all of us too. Our job is to see them off, to support them in this phase of their walk with God, and to bless them as they go. We want to be standing on the docks, probably with tears in our eyes, waving goodbye to these friends who served us and served with us. We want to strengthen them as they go so that they will arrive at their new destination with courageous, joyful hearts. In doing that, we honor God and we honor them.

On this day...

• Psalm 20:6 - 2011
• Psalm 3:3 - 2011
• Psalm 4:8 - 2011
• Psalm 4:5 - 2011
• Psalm 4:3 - 2011
• Jude 1:22-23 - 2011
• Jude 1:20-21 - 2011
• Jude 1:19 - 2011
• Jude 1:14-15 - 2011
• Jude 1:10-13 - 2011
• Jude 1:10 - 2011
• Jude c1v6 - 2011
• Luke 18:29-30 - 2011
• Luke 18:7-8 - 2011
• Philippians 4:11 - 2009