Ascention Day Today: Up and Away: Why It Is Good that Christ Departed

[Sis Ann Brown]

Up and Away: Why It Is Good that Christ Departed

When Jesus was on Earth, he was limited by space and time, like any other human. If people wanted to access him—to ask him a question, to seek his healing, to hear him preach—they had to travel to wherever he was.

But we don't have to. The Ascension has given us what we want—instant access. Although Jesus is no longer physically present on Earth, his statement "I am with you" (Matt. 28:20) indicates a new, spiritual presence. He is no longer limited by physical boundaries. Nor is he merely a historical figure, just a man who lived 2,000 years ago. As philosopher Søren Kierkegaard said in his book Practice in Christianity, Christ is our contemporary. He is present to us all. We have unobstructed access to Jesus, all the time.

As Torrance says, "It is through the Spirit that we can think of Christ as historically absent and as actually present." Though we are disconnected by space and time, the Spirit connects us to Christ, who is seated in heaven. We are with him, and he is with us (Eph. 2:6; Matt. 28:20).

Waiting Patiently

While Christ's ascension guarantees certain aspects of our salvation now, there are others that we patiently await.

We wait for Christ's full presence—spiritual and bodily. Immediately after Jesus ascended into heaven, two angels appeared to the disciples and said, "'Men of Galilee … why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven'" (Acts 1:11). The Ascension promises Christ's return. And we long for his return, sometimes impatiently. Though we have uninterrupted access to Jesus now, we will one day see him face to face. We can talk with loved ones through apps like Apple's Facetime or Skype. But nothing compares to being with one another in person. We taste the sweetness of Christ's spiritual presence here and now through the power of the Holy Spirit. But at his second coming we will experience his presence in its fullness.

We also wait for our resurrected bodies. As a result of Christ's ascension, our bodies are destined for glory. When Christ ascended, he took his resurrected body into heaven, into the presence of God. 1 Corinthians 15:22–23 says, "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him." John also says, "But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). When Christ returns, we will be made alive with him, and we will be made like him—that is, we will receive resurrected bodies like his. On that day, our entire salvation will be made complete. There will be no more waiting, no more longing. The change we long for now will no longer be a hope; it will be a reality.

The Ascension, then, is far from an addendum to the real gospel drama. It is a pivotal moment in salvation history, one in which we are guaranteed change here and now, and promised change in the future. And for that reason, it is worth celebrating.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/may-web-only/ascension-up-...