Be Still And Know

Acts 20:36–38 When [Paul] had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them. They all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye. They were sad most of all because he had said that they would never see him again. There was clearly a very strong bond between Paul and the Ephesian elders and so this moment of parting was painful. Paul, of all people, had an absolute conviction in the wonderful future that God had for him. He often spoke with great confidence about the afterlife. In Philippians he reflected on the life to come and summarised the situation by saying: “I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me” (Philippians 1:23). I am sure that Paul had no doubt that the elders would also have been looking forward to the same future. But, even so, this moment of departure was sad and painful, and the tears flowed. We shouldn’t be afraid of our emotions. At the funeral of a Christian we always have much to celebrate. We believe that Jesus came to bring us eternal life an