Separation

Why do we hate separation? Children hate being separated from their parents, like our one year old son who panics sometimes when Jessica or l leave the room. We all hate being separated from those we love, like when a young man goes to serve in the military or a young woman moves out of the house to live with her new husband. We also hate being separated from the things and the places that mean a lot to us, like a family home or the country we love.

I was reflecting on this a few nights ago after we took our oldest son, Kian, to the airport. He left the Philippines to go to The Master’s College in the U.S. We are very proud of Kian and excited for this new chapter in his life, but it is a bitter sweet time because we won’t get to watch him mature each day as we had for the last eighteen years, and now we will not be able to see him make his mark on the world. Although we are family, our family is forever changed. It

will never be quite the same. I suspect that in some ways, things will be even better as Kian grows into the man God made him to be; perhaps even having his own family someday.

However, when we sit around a table with our other five children at a restaurant, one

less seat will be occupied. When we pile into the van, there will be one less face in my rear view mirror. And as the voices compete with each other to share with me how their day went, there will be one less waiting to get a word in. I know we have the internet and various ways to communicate today, but it won’t be quite the same and I must say that I don’t enjoy the separation. I suppose I better understand how my mom felt when we left our home seven years ago to serve as missionaries.

These feelings of dislike of separation got me thinking about how horrible it will be for those who see the glory of God at judgement only to be separated from Him for eternity because of their refusal to acknowledge God for who He is. They will forever have burned in their eyes the

sight of the most beautiful and awesome being whom they will never be able to

see or approach again. How sad to see the beauty of God and then to go through eternity knowing that your own choices permanently separated you from Him. This makes the sorrow of being separated from my son by his leaving for college seem insignificant. It also reminds me of the urgency to warn others of the consequences of their choices.