What a joy it must have been for the disciples to live with and learn from the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthy ministry. God came down and lived with us in human form. How terrible it must have been for them to lose their Master. But how amazing it was for them to realize He rose from the grave and joined with them again. But the Lord had to prepare them to carry on the ministry without Him being there physically.
Go and make disciples
In that last meeting, the Lord gave them the “Great Commission.” Go and share the Good News and make disciples of all nations, not just the Jews. This glorious task was for these 12 men to send the message through Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. The ascension of Jesus wasn’t the end of the story, just the end of the beginning of a new, personal and eternal relationship with God. Matthew tells us:
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)
He is with us always and forever
We recently commemorated “Ascension Day,” when the Lord Jesus Christ bid farewell to His disciples and went home to His Father. He told them “I am with you always.” He did not mean physically. But with the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the disciples had the complete picture of just how God was going to be with them.
It’s easy to get distracted, or to lose sight of what has been given to us. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is present with us, unlimited by time and space. That’s 24/7, 365.
God is with us NOW!
A priest once stood before the congregation and held up a sign that read, “GODISNOWHERE.” It was in big block letters and bold. He asked his flock what the sign said. Most of them agreed that the sign said, “God is no where.” Then the priest held up another sign with the same, exact letters, but a completely different meaning. “GOD IS NOW HERE.”
We must expect Him to keep His word!
If we do not expect the Lord Jesus to be here with us, present and not in any way distant, we close the door and He is not with us. However, if we expect Him to keep His word and have that hopeful expectation that He will always be with us.
Then, Jesus will surely be with us, in every aspect of our lives. He is with through the common events, to church to all of the many major situations. The difference between “God is no where” and “God is now here,” is having trust and faith in the Word of God.
We worship the God who was and is and is to come. We ‘re invited to have a forever relationship with Him. He encourages us to receive His gift, salvation through Christ Jesus. And we are given the privilege of being His children, knowing that He is always with us.