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!