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During my elementary and junior high school years, my classmates and I perfected the art of “teacherless classroom behaviour.” Our teacher occasionally had to leave the room for various reasons, leaving behind 30 crafty, restless students just waiting for this opportunity. For the first few minutes after our teacher’s departure, the atmosphere would be subdued with the students keeping one eye on their papers and one eye on the door. We could never be sure if the teacher just stepped out the door to the water fountain and would be back shortly, or made the anticipated trek down the hall to the staff room. We had learned to post one particularly sneaky boy near the door, listening for the ominous footsteps of our teacher returning to the classroom.
Jesus Christ lived and walked among us but is now preparing a place for His people before He returns. Let’s turn back our calendars almost 2,000 years to 40 days after Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead.
We join Luke, the physician, and his description of Jesus in Acts 1:1-11:
1 In my former book [The Gospel of Luke], Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “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.” (NIV)
We live between now and not yet.
We live now (Acts 1:1-8).
How much do you think about why you are here? I would get quite a variety of responses if I were to go out on the streets and ask people, “What is your purpose in life and what is it all about?” I wonder what responses we would get from people who identify themselves as Christians and as members of churches. Would they be much different?
Who better to look to for the answer to this question than the Son of God who became a human for 33 years? Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God and demonstrated the kingdom of God—pointing people to a new way of life. Proclaiming the good news about Jesus Christ, reflecting His heart and demonstrating His power and authority over sickness and demons should be hallmarks of His people (Mark 16:15-18).
Living now requires you and me to be busy with His business while we have the opportunity. Howard Hendricks admonished, “In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering.”
Why are we here? What is our purpose?
The Lord will present priorities and openings to us this week. Will we give ourselves to them, or answer someone else’s call?
We live for not yet (Acts 1:9-11).
There is coming a day when every eye will see and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Now, we follow Him with eyes of faith.
How would you live differently today if you knew that you had a year to live or that Jesus would return in one year? “Not yet” is a powerful motivator if we let it. I often think of the end of my life or when I will meet the Lord face to face.
Bruce Wilkinson explained, “The growing Christian must cultivate the concentrated gaze of a person living in the future.”
The teacher’s return to our classroom prompted a variety of responses. Some hurried back to their seats, and some were caught red-handed and red-faced. There were consequences and rewards.
Seeing Jesus Christ return will bring a variety of responses. Some will regret that they refused to believe or grieve their wasted time. Others will celebrate as they finally see “the one” they anticipated.
What will Jesus find us doing, or not doing, when He returns?
We live between now and not yet. Keep an eye on the sky.
By Allan Pole
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