Acts 1:6-11
So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him,
“Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” He
replied, “The
Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not
for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon
you. And
you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After saying this, he was taken
up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see
him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they
said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but
someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
“But someday” is a
reminder of being 5 years old and hearing my Father or Mother’s answer to my
question whether I could do this or that; they said we’ll see. And, with that
began the waiting game, often accompanied by the whining of why, when, and it’s not fair! Russell was never a “silent
sufferer”. However, I always absolved
myself of being a brat by quoting Scripture loud enough so my parents could
hear:
My use of Scripture was
more a display of preschooler’s selfishness than piety. But it probably isn’t any more unthinkable
than the disciples’ asking Jesus, Who was fresh from the grave, if the Romans
and the ruling Jewish elders who crucified him were now going to get what was
coming to them. The not-so-thinly-veiled
agenda behind their question was more like, are we finally going to sit on thrones with you? Further
underneath were hidden hopes and dreams…how big are those thrones…are they gold-plated…silver…and are
there jewels…how many crowns do you suppose we’ll have…and servants…and, and,
and…
The white-robed men who
suddenly stood among the disciples answered the question of how long, but it was inconclusive to human ears…someday; we’ll see.
And, just what does it
mean for us? We, of the instant gratification generation, would be even less satisfied than the first-century disciples. But, Scripture and history both reveal that
the disciples went to work figuring out what it meant to them, and what God
wanted them to do about it. They started
mulling-over what Jesus had said to them the previous 3½ years…about the Kingdom of God. And, about
loving, serving, giving, worshipping, and being busy in God’s vineyard. It was in that season of mulling they began
to understand what living the surrendered life was all about. Scripture’s account (along with the general
sweeps of history the past two thousand years) affirm that the disciples got
it; how long is the question of impatience, not faith. Believers walk by faith.
Still, the angels didn’t
equivocate; their statement to the gathered disciples who had just witnessed
Jesus lifted up to the sky and out of their sight, ascending to His Father in Heaven,
was that, in the same way they’d just seen, He would be back.
If Scripture’s
track-record on prediction and fulfillment bears any credibility, there IS a “someday” coming, and our business, as followers of Jesus,
isn’t to question when that day might be, or how long before we get to sit on
thrones with Him; our question is what’s the next task for these hands, O Lord?
For You Today
In earthly kingdoms
there are no shortages of pretenders to the thrones, nor wannabe’s in the fame
department. In the kingdom of God there
is (on this planet, and in this day), a huge vineyard to harvest, and a woeful
supply of workers.
Let’s Pray
Father, forgive us
for hunting promotions when our focus ought to be on the lost sheep you care about.
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