"Good-bye"

He said that he was going,

But no one knew just where,

No one thought to ask him,

I guess they didn’t care.

And so when no one saw him,

They wondered where he went,

At first nobody missed him,

That’s why no word was sent.

They didn’t know he left ‘em,

A horseback up and gone,

He knew that he was dying,

And certainly not long,

He’d say good-bye to this life,

With all its woe and pain,

And into heaven’s pasture,

Eternal life to gain.

They found him on the hillside,

His pony grazin’ near,

He lay like he was sleepin’,

With a smile and not a tear.

His hands were gently folded,

His arms crossed upon his chest,

And there they found a simple note,

Folded neatly in his vest.

The cancer finally took me,

I came here to this place,

To rest until the end came,

And I see Jesus’ face.

My friends all went before me,

My family and my kin,

And those of you who find me,

Should know I’ve entered in,

To the place that Jesus gave me,

A long, long time ago,

And by the time you read this,

It’s heaven’s range I’ll know.

Give away my horse and saddle,

And what few things I own,

Take the money from my saddlebags,

Send it to the church back home.

Give my old Smith and Wesson,

And my holster buckled near,

‘Long with this box of bullets,

To the preacher who comes here.

Take my diary and my Bible,

Give it to that youngest hand,

I’ve been prayin’ he will read it,

And escape life’s sinking sand.

And know that I am thankful,

For the cowboy life God gave,

And even more I celebrate,

He died my soul to save.

They dug a grave that evenin’,

The preacher read some word,

They sang a hymn and prayed a prayer,

All those who gathered heard,

The wind up in the cottonwoods,

Blowing to and fro,

It was as if the breath of God,

Was saying, watch him go.

Just one old man and ready,

At last to say good-bye,

Laid upon the hillside,

With too much peace to cry.

“…If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (Romans 8:31, NLT)

The heart of the Good News is that God really is for us, not against us! Jesus’ death and resurrection proves it, and if we receive what He died to give us, death itself becomes a doorway into what He has prepared for us. No one knows when this life will be over. There is no expiration date printed on the bottom of your foot! But at some point the experience of death becomes personal. We cross over, and if we have put our trust in Jesus, there is nothing to fear. We can be fully assured that the God who is for us waits to receive us into His loving arms. Count on it.

Lord, give us the full assurance that You truly are for us and not against us, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Brent Flory, brentflory.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Brent, and God bless you.