The Sun Will Rise...

Today, Christians in the Western tradition celebrate "Ascension Day", commemorating the day of Jesus' ascension into the heavens to retake His place on His throne of glory. The church calendar marks 40 days following the day of His resurrection, according to Acts 1:3:

“He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3 ESV)

The magnitude of the ascension is overwhelming. This was not just Jesus' "disappearing act". The place where He ascended to was not unfamiliar to Him, because that's where He had come from (John 8:14; John 16:28). He went to a physical, tangible locale in the heavens with an authentic human body that has real bones, real hands and feet, and a real face with a beard, eyes, and nose. Where He went to and what He is doing there is what is enormously significant to understand as we celebrate His ascension today.

The four Gospels contain the beautiful and unrivaled record of the words of Jesus of Nazareth. For the Christian, those words in red on our Bible's pages are more than just moral precepts or proverbs to be studied and imitated - they are the very words of the God who formed the heavens and the earth. Those words are His precious, holy food for our famished souls. Those words are our only fountain of life everlasting (John 6:63,68). Those words can both bind up our wounds and afflict our self-centered hearts - all for the sake of love. No poet, philosopher, or philanthropist's eloquence will ever compare to the moving simplicity of the utterance of the LORD of glory Himself.

Yet we perhaps too quickly forget that both the words and deeds of Jesus we have recorded in the Gospels are only a small summary of that which He spoke and performed while dwelling among us for about thirty three years. As believers, we come before the Lord Jesus and His recorded words to "hear Him" (Luke 9:35) so that we "might believe that He is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing [we] may have life in His name" (John 20:31). Each of the Gospel writers purposely penned a short synopsis of Jesus' three years of ministry to incite faith, but John of Zebedee, a close disciple of the Lord, pens a phrase of overflowing affection at the close of his account:

We are a couple weeks into the new year and undoubtedly for many, the strong resolutions made in late 2012 are already turning into hopeful wishes for 2013. Whether it be the new workout routine, better time management, or healthier eating habits, our human zeal wanes without constant provocation and motivation from others. But even with incentive, our follow-through is often lacking the consistency we desire.

Yet among all of the resolutions we could possibly make for the new year, one will always rise above the rest because it has the guarantee of God's might helping us to follow through. It's a resolution I set my heart to make not just every year, but every day - to grow in the knowledge of Jesus.

Just as we can't instantly know all there is to know about our spouse, close friends, or co-workers the moment we meet them, we can't have immediate depth in our relationship with Jesus the instant we give our lives to Him. At the moment of our repentance and salvation, we are merely introduced to Him by the Holy Spirit as Lord of all and our brother in humanity, and daily we hear His invitation to spend the rest of our lives searching Him out and actually growing in a real friendship with Him.

As a young boy, I eagerly anticipated Thanksgiving evening's desserts and Christmas morning's presents. But as I've grown older I've begun to more deeply appreciate the "reason for the season", as the coined Christian phrase goes. And as I have studied the life of Christ these past couple of years a different anticipation has arisen in my heart around the holidays - an excitement of the season of Advent.

Advent is a term originally derived from Latin meaning "coming" or "arrival". During Advent, the church celebrates and contemplates Jesus' first coming and joyfully anticipates His second. From His lowly birth in a feed trough to His humble life amongst the people of Israel, we reflect on God's humility and faithfulness while recalling the promises of our Bridegroom, King, and Judge's return to rule and dwell in Jerusalem and be adored by the whole earth.