Saturday, June 9, 2012
Acts 1:8-9 "[Jesus said] ... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
SEPARATION ANXIETY
Small children often have a hard time when their parents drop them off at daycare. They call this separation anxiety. Parents may try to avoid upsetting their child by sneaking away, but this only makes things worse. Child psychologists say that when parents sneak away, it teaches kids that their parents could disappear at anytime. That's a pretty scary idea.
Thankfully, there is a better approach. Just say "goodbye" openly. There may be a few tears, but the mystery is gone. With an open "goodbye" a child's anxiety melts away into confidence. He can see mommy going away. He knows where she is going. He knows she will come back.
After Jesus died for our sins, He victoriously rose from the dead. Then He spent forty days meeting with His believers. He taught them about the forgiveness of sins that He had earned for them by the cross. He taught them that sinners receive this gift freely through faith in Him.
At the end of those forty days, Jesus said goodbye. Rising up into the sky in full view of His disciples, He took His visible presence away.
You might think this would be devastating to Jesus' followers. But the effect was exactly the opposite. They had no separation anxiety. Jesus' miraculous ascension gave His followers certainty. They were certain that all He had claimed in the past, was true. They were certain that His presence and power would remain with them as they began their ministries, even if they couldn't see Him (see Matthew 28:18-20). And they were certain that Jesus would return one day and they would ascend into the sky to meet Him.
This certainty is still ours today, in Christ.
