The control room

The ascension of Jesus is an event which has been somewhat neglected. Perhaps the idea of Jesus going away to be with his heavenly Father forty days after his resurrection seems kind of weird, or perhaps even unimportant.

But to think that would be a mistake.

Luke 24:51 says: “While [Jesus] was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.” When you explore the wider context, meaning, and the other biblical passages about Jesus at his Father’s right hand, you discover that the ascension is actually his cosmic coronation as King and Lord of the universe!

On earth, he couldn’t be two places at once. He couldn’t be in Galilee and Chicago at the same time. But now he is not limited by space in that same way. As a result, he is now equally accessible to a believer in Tokyo, Rio or Oro!

N.T. Wright says that the ascension teaches us that Jesus “is now in the control room—the place from which everything is now run.”*

Do you see the significance for you personally?

When your best friend is healthy and the test results are negative—Christ is in the control room! When things are going your way—Christ is in the control room! When a stranger has paid for your lunch at the Starbucks drive-through window—Christ is in the control room!

And… And!… When a pandemic and lockdown threatens to overwhelm—Christ is in the control room. When you’re not sure who you can trust—Christ is in the control room. When you’re going through chemotherapy—Christ is in the control room. When you somehow feel distant, even maybe from yourself—Christ is in the control room.

This ascension truth can give you less worry and more peace, and also less fear and more confidence. Why? Because the One who needs to be in charge is.

Christ is in the control room.

Notes:

–Today’s devotional is connected to my latest sermon called “Christ is in the control room.” It is based on Luke 24:50-53. Click here to watch or listen.

–*N.T. Wright, Simply Good News: Why the Gospel is news and what makes it good (New York: HarperOne, 2015), 54.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.