Key Verse:
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you
will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth."
Acts 1:8
Again, the Great Commission is repeated and
Jesus makes sure that the disciples understand that it includes their enemies,
the Samaritans. There are no more walls
or boundaries to the gospel. When Jesus
says, "the ends of the earth," He means, "the ends of the
earth!" No longer will there be any
exclusivity for the followers of Christ.
No longer will human traits such as being Jewish determine who are God's
chosen. All who believe, are invited and
included. No exceptions are allowed!
It is interesting that, while the resurrection
is mentioned in all four gospels, the ascension is treated more as an
anticlimactic event in the lives of Christ's followers. It would seem to be a big deal to watch a man
rise in the air. We would expect a
detailed description. It's understandable that the crucifixion wasn't given in
detail. As I said on an earlier day, the
sight of a man being crucified was all too common, but ascending into Heaven?
Yet, very little is said about the event.
The disciples are simply left staring into space, puzzling over this
next unexpected turn of events in their lives.
Then, those two men, or angels, show up again to
tell them to stop staring and go back to Jerusalem and wait some more. Waiting seems to be an important part of the
Christian life. Abram had to wait for
twenty five years to receive a promised son.
Israel had to wait forty years to enter the Promised Land. David had to wait more than ten years to
become king and on and on it goes. Now,
the disciples are sent back to Jerusalem to wait. For how long?
The angels don't say. For what
exactly? Again, the angels don't
say. Jesus had said that they would
receive the Holy Spirit, but what would that be like? Again, they are left wondering. So much has happened to them over the past
few years. One wonders if they have come
to expect the unexpected.
What would it be like for us if we were to live
our walks with the Lord in this same way?
Instead of planning and figuring it all out before we act, what if we
trusted God so much that we lived expecting the unexpected. We keep trying to figure God out, but
really! He is God! He is bigger than us! He is the ultimate creator, "able to do
exceedingly more than we could ask or imagine," (Eph. 3:20) if we even
tried. We limit Him when we demand that
He fulfill our plans. What if we let go
and said, "Yes, Lord, we'll fulfill Your plans.” We need to be watchful for His leading and
not blinded by our expectations. Trust
that the Holy Spirit will enable us to do His Will and the impossible will
become the expected.
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