Have you ever had to say goodbye? It is not easy. What about a final goodbye?

Farewells have a way of bringing life into perspective. The unimportant seems to fade away; the important is all that matters. The events, the conversations, the shared moments rotate like a slide show in our minds.

When Abraham Lincoln spoke his final words to his hometown on February 11, 1861, he said:

All the strange checkered past seems to crowd now upon my mind.

That is what goodbyes do. They bring the past to light.

This week in worship, we are discussing Paul’s goodbye to the Ephesians. The tearful occasion reminds Paul of the principal truths of life. He did not reminisce about trivial incidents. He highlights the gospel and its power in the lives of the Ephesians. As he departs, he urges them to guard all that he has taught them.

By the time we say goodbye, it is too late to change the past. Now is the time to influence, to teach, to lean into crucial truths, to be faithful to God’s calling. May we have no regrets when this day comes.