2009 - Day 35 - Final Family Reunion

February 5, 2009 … Swindoll’s Topic for Today: Final Family Reunion

Passage of the Day: Genesis 46: 28 – 30 … 28 Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen, 29 Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time.
30 Israel said to Joseph, "Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive."

My Journal for Today: Chuck Swindoll is right in his devotional book for today that this short reunion scene, as touching is it is, becomes an apt reminder of the hope we have in Christ and our readiness to be with Him for eternity. In verse 30 of Gen. 46, Jacob, after holding his long lost son, Joseph, and after weeping and laughing with him, declared that he, Jacob, was ready to die.

What is not said in this passage is that Jacob could be ready to die only if his hope and faith were placed in The Messiah to come. “Israel” (i.e., Jacob) expressed his readiness to die because of Joseph being there to hold; and that’s a very human emotion. Maybe you have very deep emotions when you think of dear ones who are no longer with you in this life; and you know that the only way you’ll see them again will be in heaven.

But that latter reunion will never take place in the future unless your loved one was given over in faith to Christ sometime in the past before he or she died; and you are in Christ now. Perhaps you reckon that you’ll never see your loved one because you know, in your heart of hearts, he or she never accepted Christ as Savior/Lord during that dear one’s life. Perhaps you know that your departed loved one was a Christian and you now have doubts about your salvation. If this is the case, the most important question of your life now is …, “Will you be reunited in heaven with any Christians from your past who’ve gone on to be with the Lord?”

If you have doubts about that, you cannot go back and justify your lost loved ones in Christ. However, you can KNOW that you will be in heaven with any Christians who’ve gone on before you to heaven. And you can know that - IF - you really believe, acknowledging that you’re a sinner, Christ died for your sins; and - IF - you believe and declare Christ (to anyone) to be your Lord. And - IF - you’ve confessed that from your heart and with your mouth, YOU ARE SAVED! That’s the promise of God’s Word (see it in Romans 10: 9 – 13) And nothing you’ve done in your past or nothing you can do in your future can now separate you from any heavenly reunion you will experience when you die and are reunited with the most important dear One in your life; ... and that, of course, is Jesus Christ.

Since Joseph is a type of Christ in the Bible, imagine, after many years of not seeing Him, when you are translated into Heaven at your death, being able to spiritually embrace Your Lord. But there will be no tears of missing Him from the past. The only spiritual tears you will have, in Heaven, will be those shed out of sheer joy of being in the presence of Yeshua Hamashia, … Jesus, The Messiah.

Oh, how I longingly look forward to that reunion; but, to be honest, I’ve still got a lot of living to do – at least in my own hopeful time-table. But if, in God’s time-table, He would have for me to be with Him tomorrow, or in the next hour for that matter, paraphrasing what old Jacob said, “I am ready to die, because I know my Savior lives!”

How about you? Do you know Christ lives; and that He died for you? If you need to make that clear, for eternity, it would be my eternal privilege to usher you into heaven by hearing your confession and declaration that Christ is Your Savior. Contact me (you probably know my phone/email contacts) and let’s get this settled for eternity. Or get with some other person you know to be a Christian and give them the privilege of embracing a new Christian when you declare to God and to them that you’ve accepted Christ as Savior and Lord. That will be a union here in this life; but it will set up a reunion in the next and for eternity.

Oh, how I pray that we’ll one day embrace in heaven as brothers or sisters in Christ.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, I long to be You, my Yeshua Hamashia; but as long as You give me life on this side, I will live for Your glory! Amen