Anticipation
I woke up this morning thinking a lot about the disciples and how they probably felt on this day during their ministry with Jesus. I truly have an insane amount of respect for them. Today is the day between the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ and I could imagine how much sleep those men lost over what was expected to happen tomorrow. Every word exchanged in the upper room two nights before and all of the allusive parables told over the three years of ministry probably felt like their only source of oxygen as they waited. The hope felt life-giving, I'm sure. If I had coffee with one of the disciples today, I would ask them how they did it. How they coped with the idea that the prophecy could quite possibly be a lie and the man they had grown to know was an imposter. I mean, this day was the true testament of faith for these eleven men (given that Judas took his life after the betrayal. And...I'm sure he would have been rooting against the prophecy if he had lived past that night) and the "what if's" and "maybe so's" probably took their thoughts captive. These men, as I said before, have an earth-shattering and mountains-moving amount of faith (even if that looks like it's the size of a mustard seed).
I then began to think about how their faith was truly powered by that prophecy told over and over again--also known as the "spoiler" to the ending of their Savior's most anticipated story. The apostles already knew what was going to happen. Now it was just a matter of waiting. And when they saw Mary Magdalene run down the hill and into the village, I'm sure they felt like they could breathe again. They could finally see a lifetime of ministry and the hope of the unshakeable kingdom: the Son of Man rose on the third day just as he had said. Again, I can't imagine what today must have felt like for them.
However, my mind then led me to think about the ascension of Christ and His promise of the second coming. For those of you who don't know, Jesus' ministry continued on for about seven weeks after the resurrection and He then ascended on a cloud back into heaven and promised that He would come down for a second time. Doesn't this sound similar to the promise the disciples were given? They were promised that He would rise from the dead and we are promised that He will come down for a second time and usher us into the kingdom. So as I sit here and wonder what the disciples must have been feeling, I ask myself: am I living with that same anticipation that I'd expect the apostles to have if our promise is so similar? My friends, here we can dive into it: we are currently living in what could be the equivalent of the second day. We are in between the ascension and the second coming and how are you anticipating?
The disciples didn't lose their hope and we shouldn't either. Going back to what I said before, the words of Christ were probably so life-giving and packed with hope that they felt like oxygen to the disciples. Friends, are you allowing the words, the love, the grace, and the truth be your oxygen as you wait patiently upon the Lord? Are you allowing it to be the daily bread that fuels you to fight and keep serving? We must remember what the resurrection truly means to us this holy week and how we can let it change the way we live completely. It's easy to lose heart and I understand that. We don't have to wait three days like the community surrounding Christ during His life: we've had to wait some two thousand years and only the Father knows how many more. However, we should keep that three-day faith as we wait for the second coming. The Lord is still doing such a mighty thing: just as He did in those days of waiting. We can't lose heart!
So I'd like to take a moment and encourage you in this: we will see the day in which the Father will usher us into the Kingdom. Whether that be through the second coming or through passing on: we WILL see the kingdom. You and I have earth-shattering and mountain-moving faith because we ARE His disciples. We can cling to that promise and the prophecy just like the disciples did because we know the truth: we know that the war on death is finished. We know this. So, let the promise be your fuel to wait in such eager anticipation for the Father to finally see the third day.
All my love,
Syd.
I then began to think about how their faith was truly powered by that prophecy told over and over again--also known as the "spoiler" to the ending of their Savior's most anticipated story. The apostles already knew what was going to happen. Now it was just a matter of waiting. And when they saw Mary Magdalene run down the hill and into the village, I'm sure they felt like they could breathe again. They could finally see a lifetime of ministry and the hope of the unshakeable kingdom: the Son of Man rose on the third day just as he had said. Again, I can't imagine what today must have felt like for them.
However, my mind then led me to think about the ascension of Christ and His promise of the second coming. For those of you who don't know, Jesus' ministry continued on for about seven weeks after the resurrection and He then ascended on a cloud back into heaven and promised that He would come down for a second time. Doesn't this sound similar to the promise the disciples were given? They were promised that He would rise from the dead and we are promised that He will come down for a second time and usher us into the kingdom. So as I sit here and wonder what the disciples must have been feeling, I ask myself: am I living with that same anticipation that I'd expect the apostles to have if our promise is so similar? My friends, here we can dive into it: we are currently living in what could be the equivalent of the second day. We are in between the ascension and the second coming and how are you anticipating?
The disciples didn't lose their hope and we shouldn't either. Going back to what I said before, the words of Christ were probably so life-giving and packed with hope that they felt like oxygen to the disciples. Friends, are you allowing the words, the love, the grace, and the truth be your oxygen as you wait patiently upon the Lord? Are you allowing it to be the daily bread that fuels you to fight and keep serving? We must remember what the resurrection truly means to us this holy week and how we can let it change the way we live completely. It's easy to lose heart and I understand that. We don't have to wait three days like the community surrounding Christ during His life: we've had to wait some two thousand years and only the Father knows how many more. However, we should keep that three-day faith as we wait for the second coming. The Lord is still doing such a mighty thing: just as He did in those days of waiting. We can't lose heart!
So I'd like to take a moment and encourage you in this: we will see the day in which the Father will usher us into the Kingdom. Whether that be through the second coming or through passing on: we WILL see the kingdom. You and I have earth-shattering and mountain-moving faith because we ARE His disciples. We can cling to that promise and the prophecy just like the disciples did because we know the truth: we know that the war on death is finished. We know this. So, let the promise be your fuel to wait in such eager anticipation for the Father to finally see the third day.
All my love,
Syd.
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