Saying Good Bye

           How long does it take you to say “good bye' to a person leaving your home? As I think back to my childhood days, I recall that it was all said near the front or side door of the house and was usually rather quickly done. In some places, the ritual of bidding good bye can take quite an amount of time before being completed. It will begin in the house with the announcement that it is time to leave and then the person is followed out the door, down the steps, and up to the car. The driver gets into the car and then rolls down the window and the ritual continues until the engine is started and put into reverse then there is the usual amount of waving and flashing of car lights as the person drives off. As complex as the ritual might be, it usually doesn't get as spiritual as the Apostle Paul who said good bye in a number of his epistles. One of the ones that is most comparable to today's ritual is that which is found in Romans 16 where almost the whole chapter is devoted to all of the laborers involved in the ministry at that time. I counted some thirty names that appear in the “good bye” in Romans sixteen. Jude 1:24-25 says, "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,  To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”

        The “good bye” to Philemon forms one of the great statements of how to say good bye. It's rich depth goes into the praise to God Himself and forms what we now call a “doxology.” The word “glory” is from a word “doxa” which leads us to doxology. In many places of worship, the service is closed with a “doxology” and the one found in this short book is one of the most common ones almost being used at the end of many services. Some preachers have preached sermons on each aspect of the content of these verses. The doxology is certainly comforting and if you don't remember much about the sermon, these last words become an anchor for your soul for the trials ahead in the upcoming week. It is both instructional and worshipful as we give God the credit for what He is doing in our lives. Paul didn't always put the doxology at the end of the book. We find another great one in Ephesians 3:20-21 where Paul ends a section of teaching with a doxology and then goes on with a great, “therefore.” In this reference, the doxology is right in the middle of the six chapters and also where the word “glory” is found once more. God is wonderful in His provision to each and every one of us each and every day. Once more, as you end your time with God, praise Him for what He is doing in your life today and give Him all the glory for it.