Before saying goodbye

1. Before yousay Goodbye… – 26th
January 2016
“However, as it is written:“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human
mind has conceived”—the things God has prepared for those who love him—”(1 Corinthians
2:9).
You’ve probably seen the “Before You Die” books like 1000 Places to See Before You Die, or 50
Places to Play Golf Before You Die. The movie The Bucket List follows the same theme of
making a list of fun things to do before you say goodbye to this world. Recently an extreme
sports athlete was killed in Yosemite National Park while attempting a parachute jump from a
3,000-foot cliff. Someone commented, “At least he died doing what he loved.” What is that
supposed to mean? Have fun even if it kills you?
This made me think that since all of us have to come to this occurrence at sometime or the
other, that there are things we need to priorities before that happened. There are some who
are constantly worrying about the after mirth after dearth. But as Christians we have an
assurance that we have a home in Gods kingdom where there would be no sickness, sadness
and worries! Therefore I’ve created a list that isn’t about having fun before you die, but the
best way to leave this world and enter the next life promised to us by God…Jesus himself said:
“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going
there to prepare a place for you? (John 14:2).
First action should be to Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. This is the most important
decision you will ever make because it determines your eternal destiny. Whatever we may do in
our limited life on earth, we need to seek God to receive our forgiveness from God for All sin
and sinful deeds done during our lifetime. All good deeds while being good by itself cannot save
us. But it is only through our faith in Jesus Christ as our saviour and through His grace that we
can receive same. We can learn in Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no
other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Tell your family you love them. I know a woman who said her mother had never told her, “I love
you.” When her elderly mother was on her deathbed, she finally said, “I love you.” The
daughter broke down sobbing because she finally heard the words she longed to hear her
entire life. Due to the hustle and bustle in our day to day living, we can forget to tell our loved
ones that “I love you…” One may take for granted that “I love my family “and everyone whom
we know will know this…” Sure but have you made it known to them and if so ask yourself
when was the last time that I did this? We can learn when Paul says:“If I speak in the tongues of
men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1
Corinthians 13:1).We need to make a conscious effort to make it known to them because when
one knows for certain, that very action can changes many things to the better what we may
have taken for granted.
During our lifetime with or without our knowledge we may have hurt a number of people.
Therefore as Christians we need to bear in mind that we need to Apologize to those we have
hurt. You might be surprised how a sincere apology can heal a relationship and rejuvenate a

2. marriage or friendship. All of us seek God’s forgives for the wrong deeds and actions that we
have done in our life. That is only one side. The other side is about others whom we have
trespassed. God requires us to live with love for one another and not with hate for one another.
Because Jesus said: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you
must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another” (John 13:34-35).
Therefore as Christians we need to be willing to say “I’m sorry.” Apology is the pathway to
restored, loving relationships. The need for apologies is present in all human relationships.
Marriage, parenting, dating, vocational relationships, church family relationships are just a few
of the arenas where knowing how to apologize is essential. But apologizing or saying sorry is
not always easy. It takes courage to accept you made a mistake. But it frees us from the shekels
of evil that constantly drives us that prevents us from saying sorry. But god teaches us
differently!
Most often we may have deep seeded anger against those who hurt us. But as Christians we
need to be different and learn to forgive the person who hurt you. If we don’t do that and
release ourselves from this anger, we will stay chained to that person until you forgive.
Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the chain and sets you free. We can learn in Matthew 6:15,
“But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins”. We must
know that it is only when we forgive others that God will be willing to forgive us for our sins. As
Christians we use the Lord’s Prayer constantly in our prayers. Each time we say that prayer we
are stating the following that we learn in Matthew 6:12, “And forgive us our debts, as we also
have forgiven our debtors’. We are asking His forgiveness by promising Him that we have
forgiven other…
We are God’s creation and belong to Him. We were sinners but were redeemed through the
sacrifice made by Jesus. We need to be thankful for Gods provision and Enjoy every day of your
life…to be a living example of God’s presence in our lives. Jesus came to give you abundant
life.“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for
righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed”(1 Peter 2:24). Through his sacrifice and
through our faith in Jesus Christ we are saved and hence we are free. Enjoy the day, the hour,
the moment. Once it’s gone you can’t get it back. As Christians we should not put off doing
these things each day because we don't know how much time we have left before we are called
tp come... “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and
depth of insight” (Philippians 1:9).

3. “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what
no human mind has conceived”—the things God has
prepared for those who love him—”(1 Corinthians 2:9).