We are almost to Ascension Day (40 days post-Easter). Over the next five days we will take a look at five promises Jesus made to us before he ascended. Five promises that he can only keep because he has gone to Heaven. The promise of his presence, his Spirit, his place, his rule, and his return. These are five promises that we can base all our hope, faith, and love upon.
Ascension promise: Presence.
Matthew 28:16-20. 16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Adults often ask the question, “Why am I here? Or, why do I even exist? What’s my purpose?” You may have even asked yourself this question too.
We can find the answer all the way back in Genesis. God made us to image him. To be like him. He made us to love and to fill the Earth with love. How? By serving and protecting each other and the Earth.
God told Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply.” They would get married and make a family that was supposed to love each other like God. You might remember how terribly wrong things turned out instead.
Yet, God still wants us to look like him, to love like him. He wants us to spread his love by serving each other. God doesn’t ask us to do this by getting married and making a family anymore (although it definitely Ok to do these things when you grow up). God asks us to spread his love by making disciples. Look again at today’s scripture. Jesus is telling his disciples to go make more disciples after he ascends into Heaven.
What is our purpose in life? To make disciples.
What is a disciple? A disciple is a student. A follower. Jesus has sent us out to help people become his followers. Trusting him. Loving him. Obeying him.
And here is the ascension promise – I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Jesus is not just a memory or a nice thought in our hearts that we carry with us as we go through life. No, he is actually with us. I know this is hard to understand sometimes, but Jesus actually lives inside of the heart of the Christian. Jesus is living out his life through us who trust in him. Jesus is living through the countless Christians that are going about their lives on Earth. Jesus is farming the land. Jesus is teaching children. Jesus is picking up the trash. Jesus is building tunnels and bridges. Jesus is serving food at the restaurant. Wherever Christians go in the world, Jesus is going with them.
And Jesus with you always doesn’t just mean he is close by. His presence is power. Everything and anything we do that is good, kind, or loving, is because Jesus is doing it through us. It’s his work, not yours. He gives us the spiritual energy and ability to tell others about Jesus and show them how to follow him.
To make disciples is to invite others to share the life of Jesus with us, and to do it in the power of Jesus’ presence, authority, and love. That’s how we can be fruitful and multiply today, by taking the love of Jesus with us wherever we go. And in the process, finding the meaning of our life in his.
You: What would you say is the purpose of your life?
You with Jesus: How does knowing that we have God’s powerful love in us through Jesus help us to love others like Jesus?
Prayer: Father, you promise that I am never alone, Jesus is with me. Not just in my thoughts and memories, but by his actual presence in my life. I want to live from this power, the power of his presence. Help me to trust Jesus’ presence in my life moment by moment. Amen.
TLICfamily 