Today is known as Ascension Day in the Christian church. It’s observed as the day when Jesus finally ascended following his resurrection. The notion of the Ascension is important in my life for the following reason. Let me set its importance up for you. You see I can’t imagine how crushed the disciples were when they had to face their first time of separation from Jesus in the time following his crucifixion and burial. In fact they were probably surprised at how unprepared they were for living into the next stage of their individual and collective lives. The disciples were lucky, however. They received an additional 40 days of time “together” in order to do two things: heal and prepare themselves for the days ahead. The Ascension, then, represents for me an amazing expression of God‘s grace. The 40 days that lie between Jesus’ resurrection and final departure suggest that God doesn’t just throw things on our plate without regard to our circumstance or ability to carry them out; God often provides the time and space we need to process them. As we look back and scan the horizon of our lives, let us give thanks for those times when we too were given the space and time we have been given to deal with the challenges we have faced. Then, let us go forth with the healing and sense of vision we gained and live the lives God’s grace has empowered us to live. Til next time…
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Thursday, May 1
Today is known as Ascension Day in the Christian church. It’s observed as the day when Jesus finally ascended following his resurrection. The notion of the Ascension is important in my life for the following reason. Let me set its importance up for you. You see I can’t imagine how crushed the disciples were when they had to face their first time of separation from Jesus in the time following his crucifixion and burial. In fact they were probably surprised at how unprepared they were for living into the next stage of their individual and collective lives. The disciples were lucky, however. They received an additional 40 days of time “together” in order to do two things: heal and prepare themselves for the days ahead. The Ascension, then, represents for me an amazing expression of God‘s grace. The 40 days that lie between Jesus’ resurrection and final departure suggest that God doesn’t just throw things on our plate without regard to our circumstance or ability to carry them out; God often provides the time and space we need to process them. As we look back and scan the horizon of our lives, let us give thanks for those times when we too were given the space and time we have been given to deal with the challenges we have faced. Then, let us go forth with the healing and sense of vision we gained and live the lives God’s grace has empowered us to live. Til next time…
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