(Sorry about missing last week. Both my sisters are in town and life is a bit crazy right now)
Sometimes I have to remind myself that Jesus knew exactly what He was doing when He left this planet.
Let’s be honest, aren’t there many times it would be so nice to sit down and say “ok, Jesus, explain this one to me. What did You (or Your Father) mean right here?” or “How do I apply this passage today?”
When Jesus left this planet He literally placed His Church in our hands. Now, He left us His Word and gave us His Spirit but sometimes it feels like that’s not helping much.
When I look at the history of the Church or the history of the world since the Church began I get very discouraged. Division, hypocrisy, false teaching, strife, scams have tarnished our witness in an already tired and jaded world.
But, the truth is Jesus knew exactly what He was doing, and actually it wasn’t a mistake that He left when He did. The Rabbis teach that God wants to partner WITH us to bring His kingdom. He wants to USE us, not just do it all Himself. God wants to use a broken people to reach a broken world.
What kind of a God is this?
Honestly, that’s not the way I would do things.
– A perfect man who always knew His Father’s heart.
– A sinless man who could navigate the grey areas of life with ease, who was never out of step, always thinking of His Father’s kingdom.
– A man who never struggled to obey, or said He was too tired to get up and pray.
– A kind, gentle, sincere, humble and yet powerful man.
– A man who always told the truth and yet always told it in love.
That’s the kind of man I’d leave on this planet.
But, if Jesus was still here how much faith would it take on our part? How much growing and maturing, how much learning and searching of Scripture would we be doing? How much time in prayer would be spend if Jesus was here to answer every question, solve every riddle, and handle every division? “I don’t need to tell people about Jesus, they can go meet Him for themselves…”
God has placed us in a position where we are forced to run to Him for answers, forced to grow and mature in our faith. We are forced to wrestle, forced to seek Him… and what treasures do we receive when we find Him.
God wants a mature Church, a bride who’s aware of her place in God’s plan, a people who know their God and know His Word. And by taking His Son to heaven He’s making that in to a reality. Do we struggle and fail? Definitely. But is God using us, growing us, and bringing His kingdom through His Church? Praise His Name – most assuredly.
Bc He is God and His plan never fails.