Final Family Reunion

Genesis 46:28-30

Think of what it must have been like. After more than two decades, Jacob once more held the son that he had given up for dead. After all he had been through, Joseph embraced his aging father—the man he had missed so much, the one he feared he would never see again. He might have felt the bones across his back as he held the old man in his arms. How long it had been! How much he had missed him! There the two men stood, staring into each other’s eyes. Weeping one moment, laughing the next. What a grand family reunion.

Jacob said the only fitting thing as soon as he could control himself: “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive” (Genesis 46:30).

There is another type of reunion noted in Scripture—the final, ultimate family reunion that is the hope of every child of God.

On that day we’ll all hear the blast of a trumpet. I know some who expect to hear the melodious strings of a harp. Not me. I expect to hear the lonely whine of a harmonica—because my dad is there in glory, awaiting my arrival. And on that “great gettin’-up morning,” our entire family will be reunited forever in the presence of the Lord.

The reality is, though, that no matter how precious your memories, it does not matter the way you were. What matters is the way you are. No amount of solid family ties will fit you for heaven. Only through Christ will you be included in His family roll call.

We can be thankful for the recording chamber of our memories that keeps us young. But what we really need at this important moment is the deep assurance that we are His. Only then can we look forward in hope to that ultimate and final family reunion.

Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Posted in Bible Characters and tagged .

Accuracy, clarity, and practicality all describe the Bible-teaching ministry of Charles R. Swindoll. Chuck is the chairman of the board at Insight for Living and the chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary. Chuck also serves as the senior pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, where he is able to do what he loves most—teach the Bible to willing hearts. His focus on practical Bible application has been heard on the Insight for Living radio broadcast since 1979.

ఖచ్చితత్వం, స్పష్టత మరియు ఆచరణాత్మకత అన్నీ చార్లెస్ ఆర్. స్విన్డాల్ యొక్క బైబిల్-బోధనా పరిచర్యను వివరిస్తాయి. చక్ ఇన్సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ కు బోర్డు ఛైర్మన్ మరియు డల్లాస్ థియోలాజికల్ సెమినరీకి ఛాన్సలర్. చక్ టెక్సాస్‌లోని ఫ్రిస్కోలోని స్టోన్‌బ్రయర్ కమ్యూనిటీ చర్చ్ యొక్క సీనియర్ పాస్టర్‌గా కూడా పనిచేస్తున్నారు, అక్కడ ఆయన చాలా ఇష్టపడేదాన్ని చేయగలుగుతున్నాడు-ఇష్టపడే హృదయాలకు బైబిల్ నేర్పిస్తున్నారు. ఆచరణాత్మక బైబిల్ అనువర్తనంపై ఆయన దృష్టి 1979 నుండి ఇన్సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ రేడియో ప్రసారంలో వినబడుచున్నది.