1 Thessalonians 5:23-28 (NLT)
23 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 24 God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.
25 Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us.
26 Greet all the brothers and sisters with a sacred kiss.
27 I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters.
28 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
I have a lot of experience with ‘goodbyes’ in my life. Throughout my childhood, my family moved to a new town/city every few years, which meant saying goodbye to friends and neighbours. This became harder as I grew older, and our last move as a family was particularly difficult for me because it was in the middle of high school. I said goodbye to wonderful friends and started at a new school, where I struggled to make any friends.
At 19, I chose to move away from home to attend university in Toronto, where I lived for more than 10 years. Those years were also filled with goodbyes as friends left the city after university, I changed careers, and the final goodbye when I moved away from Toronto.
Like everyone else, I’ve said goodbye to friends and family who have passed away, to relationships that didn’t work out, and to co-workers every time I changed jobs. Some were ‘good’ goodbyes and some were not. Some were a source of relief and some resulted in pain. Some I handled with grace and others I handled very poorly.
Looking at Paul’s goodbye to the people of Thessalonica in this first letter, his love and sincerity is obvious. Throughout 1 Thessalonians, Paul’s love for the people is evident. The people of Thessalonica clearly hold a special place in his heart.
In his goodbye, Paul includes a prayer and a hope for them. He leaves advice and instruction to live in the peace and holiness of God and to treat one another in love and kindness. He asks for prayer and tells them to continue to read Scripture. He ends it with ‘May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with’ (verse 28). It is a beautiful and heartfelt goodbye.
Paul did not know when, or if, he would see the church of Thessalonica again. In those times, travelling meant walking long distances. It meant facing the dangers of the open road such as weather, thirst, and violence. Plans could be easily interrupted and courses were forced to change.
Therefore, Paul wrote as if he would never see them again. He ensured that his love, compassion and instructions were clear. He did not want to leave them wondering what he meant or if he cared. His choice of words and his goodbye made his thoughts and emotions obvious.
As I write this, I think about one of the hardest goodbyes I have ever had to say. It was January 15th, 2019, and I stood outside airport security at Toronto Pearson International. I was about to embark on an incredible journey, following the calling God has placed on my heart to be a missionary in the Czech Republic. But first, I had to say goodbye to the 2 most important people in my life. I turned to my parents and unexpectedly burst into tears. I didn’t have the words, but my emotions and actions clearly spoke my love for them. It was a beautiful goodbye.
Goodbyes are hard. They can be heartbreaking and devastating. But they can also be beautiful if we do them like Paul did, if we do them with grace and love.
I pray that we can all have goodbyes like Paul’s goodbye, with the knowledge that even if we will never see someone again on this earth, we are forever connected in the body of Christ.