Now You See Him; Now You Don’t

On a recent Sunday in our worship service we celebrated the least thought of, yet one of the most important, days in the life of Jesus: the Ascension. It’s sad to me that the name of that Sunday is informally known as ‘Ascension Sunday’. Ascension Day was the Thursday before ‘Ascension Sunday’. Many churches celebrate Ascension Day, which always occurs forty days after we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. I’ve never figured out why the Ascension gets so little attention within much of the Christian community. It’s one of the most important days in the life of Jesus…ever.

You see, when Jesus ascended, not only did He ascend as the Son of God, which of course He is, but He also ascended as the Son of Man. Which means that He is now in Heaven, at the right hand of the Father, assuming His former and rightful place in that spiritual realm…as a human. In other words, the incarnation did not end with the resurrection of Jesus. It is still going on! Humanity is in Heaven seated at the right hand of the Father! And that means that the humanity that you and I partake of is holy, sacred, honoured, and glorified in the risen and ascended Jesus of Nazareth!

You are as special to the Father as Jesus. You are as important to the Father as Jesus. The Father loves you just as much as Jesus. And if you are in Jesus, you too are seated at the Father’s right hand. You may not be there in the flesh just this minute, but, in Jesus, your destination is assured: if we embrace the suffering that is part of our discipleship while here on this earth, and if we stand fast in the hope to which He has called us in Christ.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for placing me in Your Son, Jesus. Thank You for accepting me in Him to be seated beside You in Your glory. Stand fast with me as I stand fast with and for You in this season of my life, looking forward to that day when I shall see You face to face in glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.