| Devotional Hours with the Bible |
Chapter 42 |
Page 4 |
The story of the Ascension is told briefly. “It came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.” In the last glimpse the world had of Jesus in human form, He was holding out His hands over His friends, blessing them. Ever since that time the hands of the risen Christ have really been spread out over this world, raining benedictions down upon it. Jesus is at the right hand of God, but He has not lost any of His interest in this world, nor has He withdrawn His hands from the work of redemption. He ever lives in heaven to make intercession for us. Then He is always with us in the world, in real, personal presence, so that any one of us may say, “Christ and I are friends.”
When the disciples had seen their Master ascending out of their sight they were not overwhelmed with grief, as they had been when He died on the cross. They understood now the meaning of His departure, and their hearts were full of joy and gladness. “They worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” While they would not see Him anymore, they knew where He had gone, and why. They knew also that He had not left them, that they had not lost Him, but that He had gone out of their sight, that He might become all the more to them, in their spiritual lives and in their power for service.
There was something yet to do before the blessing of Christ’s redemption could come upon His disciples. They were to wait for the promise of the Father. So they came down from the Mount of Olives and entered the city, to begin the waiting and prayer, at the end of which the Holy Spirit would come. “And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.” We cannot always be engaged in prayer and formal acts of worship, but we can have in our lives continually the spirit of devotion. We can always be expecting to find blessing, looking up to God and pleading for it. If we live thus, a life of prayer, of faith, and hope, our weekdays, even when engaged most busily in the work of the world, will be full of song and cheer. If we cannot write hymns which people may sing, we can at least make our lives songs, so that all who see us shall hear the music of love and peace in our life.
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