Saying goodbye is hard. A best friend moves to a different state. A big sister leaves for college. Grandparents drive away at the end of a visit.

But many times when we say goodbye, we also add another little word that makes us feel a little better: until. Until Christmas. Until spring break. Until the next visit. That word makes all the difference, because it means the goodbye isn’t the end. There will be another time that you’ll be together.

Some goodbyes are much harder. When someone we love dies, it can feel like there’s no “until” at all. But in 1 Thessalonians, Paul says even in times like that, there’s still an “until”. Paul wrote when Jesus comes back, everyone who belongs to Him will be together—the people who have already died and the people who are still alive, all reunited, all with the Lord.

That’s not a maybe. That’s a promise. For everyone who belongs to Jesus, even the difficult goodbyes have an until. Until we see each other again in heaven. And the best part is, you’ll be together forever.

Think About It: Is there someone you love and miss? It’s okay to feel sad about that. Missing people is part of loving them. How does it make you feel knowing that one day you will be forever in heaven with everyone you know who accepts Jesus as their Savior? If you want to, tell a parent or another grown-up who loves you about that person today. Talking about them is a good thing.