Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Acts 1:6-11 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
IS THE BEST BEHIND?
Remember the good old days? Remember when your favorite TV show was still on the air, when you were younger and carefree, when school shootings were unheard of, when families sat down together for dinner, when life just felt safer? Many of us look back fondly on days past. We thank the Lord for happy memories.
But do you ever worry that the best is behind us? We can't go back to the way things were. If things in the past seem better, what reason is there for hope today? As a result, some people become disinterested and disengaged from life.
After Jesus' ascension the disciples might have longed for the "good old days" when the Lord was visibly with them to guide, instruct, and encourage. If they had a question, He was right there to answer it. If they were in danger on the Sea of Galilee, He was there in the boat with them.
Yet even though things had changed, there was no cause for sadness over what was past. It was a great gift to be with Jesus during His ministry, but now He had atoned for sin at the cross, completed His work of reconciliation, risen from the dead, and ascended to the Father's right hand. Now He was ruling over all things and would soon send the disciples the Holy Spirit to equip them for their life's work. The best was not behind. It was yet to come!
That is always true for believers of any age. Our lives in Christ are not about longing for the "good old days" for ourselves or our congregations, but about making the most of the present trusting that the living Lord is "surely with us always to the very end of the age," and will bless us according to His good will.
Far from the best being behind us, the very best is yet to come. We have the promise of the Ascension angels: "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Then the best will really begin!
