Jesus Left But is Still Present

Thursday, May 29, is the 40^th day after Easter – the day when Jesus ascended into heaven.  Read Matt. 28:16-20 and Acts 1: 1-11 for the story.  In John 16: 7, J prepared his disciples for his leaving by saying, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 

How is Christ’s leaving an advantage for us?  Most p would say the opposite –that Christ’s presence would be our advantage.  Wouldn’t faith be easier if the Lord was still among us in the flesh?  Imagine if Jesus had an office where we could go to see Him?  Or an 800 number so people could call him for advice and counseling?  If we could actually speak with Jesus, wouldn’t that be to our advantage?  No.  Jesus says, It’s for your good that I’m going away.

One advantage is that all people in all places can know Him.  Jesus in the flesh was limited by space & time. He could not be in 2 places at the same time.  But now He can do that.  Through the Holy Spirit, He’s there with you, and He’s with people across town and across the globe.

Thomas a’Kempis once wrote about how the Lord’s Supper would be treasured if it was offered only once a year in one place.  Think of the lines!  That easy access to the Lord’s Supper blinds us to its enormous value and importance.  That’s true about our access to Christ too.  If Jesus had an office somewhere, people would wait in line for weeks and months to come into his presence.  And yet, we’re never far from Jesus now.  We can visit Him anytime, anywhere, in faith.

Now we’ve got to grow and mature on our own.  There’s a responsibility and maturity that comes with that.  A father told me that his 2^nd son Jeff had matured so much after his older brother (the first son) had moved away.  I wonder if the Lord sensed that He had to leave for the disciples to mature.  They had Him to settle their differences, answer their questions, and make all their decisions.  If Jesus did have an office next door, would we ever grow and mature as his followers?  Or would we be like little children who never learn to walk by themselves because their parents carry them everywhere?

Thank God that we don’t have to learn to walk without help.  We have a lot of freedom, but we’re guided by the Holy Spirit.  We have the advantage of Christ’s presence through the Spirit.  And maybe that’s the best advantage of all – now that Jesus has left us, we know that He’ll never leave us!  We don’t see his body anymore, but His Spirit is with us always!

What Do These Stones Mean?

 I knew a man in Iowa who built a stone retaining wall in his backyard.  His wall had gray stones, silver stones, brown field stones, and blocks of pink granite.  It took him about 8 years to build the wall that would keep the dirt in place and be a nice backdrop for a flower garden.

But he didn’t have any big stones.  He thought a farmer would have tons of rocks.  When they find a big stone out in the field, they toss it in a pile.  He thought he’d get some stones from a farmer he knew.  But when he called the farmer, he was told, “This is Iowa.  There are no rocks in Iowa.  If you want rocks you have to go someplace else.”

So he collected rocks for 8 years.  Whenever his family took a vacation, they bring back a rock.  His wall had rocks from Michigan, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota.  Coming back from a fishing trip in Canada, the customs officer looked in his trunk and said, “What’s this?”  The man said, “a stone.”  The officer said, “Don’t you have any stones in Iowa?”  “No.”

Memorial Day is a good time to stack stones.  After the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River, Joshua ordered 12 strong men to stack 12 large stones on the shore as a monument.  “In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.  When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.  These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”  (Joshua 4: 6-7)

Are there stones in your life?  Are there monuments to which a child can point sand say, “What do these stones mean?”

            -“Why do we always pray before supper, Mom?”

            -“Why do we always go to church?”

            -“How come we read the Bible?”

            -“Why do you put money in the offering plate at church?”

Joshua built the memorial not for the people who crossed the Jordan that day, but for their children.  Your children (and grandchildren) are looking at you, looking for memorial stones, looking for a God who lives and reigns in your life.  Your children are on a spiritual journey.  You must provide the markers and milestones along the way.  If you don’t give your children stones, who will?  Children today need stones.