Acts 1:9-14
New International
Version 1984 (NIV1984)
9 After he said this, he
was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking
intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in
white stood beside them. 11 “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 backing the same
way you have seen him go into heaven.”
12 Then they returned to
Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s
walk from the city. 13 When
they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying.
Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas
son of James. 14 They
all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and
Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Looking
up, that is what I would have been doing if I had just seen Jesus rise into the
sky! I find it interesting, the
reactions of the disciples in this scripture passage. What happened around 43 days prior to this
and what was the setting? Jesus was in
this same place, praying and sweating drops that appeared to be blood. He was telling His Father that He recognized
that it was time for the Father to be glorified, “not my will but yours”. The disciples, exhausted from their own worry
were sleeping. In this passage Jesus has
their full attention. These were men who
forty days earlier were hiding and fretting, who were anxious of what was
coming next. Now look at them, they are
astonished, probably a little surprised as they look into the sky and see their
Lord lifted up into the clouds. No
rocket, no hot air balloon, no airplane, just Jesus ascending to the Father in
Heaven. Just about the time you think
they have seen it all, suddenly two men dressed in white are right there in the
midst. When they were told that Jesus
would come back in the same way, you might think that they would continue to
keep their eyes in the sky. But they
didn’t, they returned to Jerusalem as they had been instructed to do.
How
does this apply to us today? My thoughts
went back to the place in which they were.
Sometimes I find that the places of most distress turn out to be the places
of most joy. Jesus cried to the Father,
He knew things were going to get rough, yet He allowed the Father to work
through Him so the Father could be glorified.
Now Jesus is back in that place where He agonized and He is lifted
up. What a glorious experience that must
have been! When we go through trials and
troubles of this world, we need to continually pray that the will of the Father
is done. We need to pray that we will
remain strong through His power not our own so the Father can be glorified, not
ourselves.
As
for the reaction of the disciples, we too need to follow the instructions that
are given to us. We need to live lives
that produce much fruit. We need to be in the Word of God so that we know what
our instructions are. Yes, He will
return as He went, un-expectantly, He
will return. How will He find us? Will we be absently staring into the sky or
will we be doing the work of our Father?
As
you seek Him may you find that you are living in the will of our Father so that
He may be glorified.
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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