One day, we will be called home to Heaven. As we are looking at the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told us to pray to God in Heaven. This devotional reading looks at how we will live with Jesus for eternity.
Nuggets
- As Jesus had descended to earth, it is only natural that He ascend again to Heaven.
- After Jesus returned to Heaven, He was given a place of honor – at the right hand of God.
- Once eternity begins, there will be nothing that can separate us from Jesus.
It might seem like we are chasing a rabbit, but we’ve been talking about the inhabitants of Heaven. We said that angels, the Church, God, and Jesus will live there.
We’ve already identified Heaven as the home of God, so we aren’t going to rehash that. Let’s move on to Jesus as an inhabitant.
Let's Put It into Context
To read devotions in the Habitual Holiness of Heart and Life theme, click the button below.
Here is a running list of nuggets for the series.
Devotions in the Commit to Grow Our Habits study
Here is a running list of nuggets for the study.
Ascended to Heaven
“And when he [Jesus] had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (Acts 1: 9 ESV)
As Jesus had descended to earth, it is only natural that He ascend again to Heaven.
Oh, yeah. There was nothing natural about it to the men who were watching Jesus. The way it is written makes it sound like a cloud just came, picked Him up, and – after a bit – hid Him from view.
Not every day we see a cloud taxi.
Think about it. Ascension back to Heaven was a really important part of the Plan of Salvation.
Yes, I think the Plan was completed on the cross. Jesus actually said it was (Jn. 18: 30).
The resurrection was important. Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t just about death. It was about new life.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
Then we get to the ascension. The actual lift off shouldn’t trip us up. Jesus had said in Matthew 28: 18, “… ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’” (ESV).
The disciples had to see Jesus going up to Heaven. He didn’t want them to continue looking for Him when He was long gone from this earth.
Jesus wanted them focused on the missions that He had for them. They were to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you …” (Mt. 28: 19-20 ESV).
The disciples’ calendars were going to be too full to be playing hide and seek.
Beyond that, us being us, we would have seen Jesus as we are. He would have grown old, gotten sick, and died in our mind’s eye if we didn’t have the account of Him leaving alive.
There is a problem, though. We may see Jesus going back to Heaven not as new life, but as a resumption of His old life.
But it wasn’t. It was more than that.
Hamilton explained it this way. He wrote, “The ascension of Jesus was essential to the plan and work of redemption. It was necessary to relate again the work which Jesus had come to do in the earth with the world from whence He came.”
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Jesus was fulfilling His prophecy that He would go back to Heaven and intercede for us.
How many times in the gospels did we read that Jesus went off on His own to spend time with His Father? Part of that time was spent praying for the apostles – and us.
You don’t think Jesus was going to give that up, did you?
It was very important that Jesus go back to Heaven alive. He had conquered sin, which had ushered in death. We are free and able to obtain His character.
It was important that the disciples had to see Jesus – then not see Him. They had to see there was more after life on this earth.
They had to see Jesus go. They had to know about the unseen.
To read a devotion in the The Unseen Spirit World series, click on the button below.
The ascension was also about glorifying Jesus. “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God” (Mk. 16: 19 NIV). He had been obedient to the Father. The Father was now rewarding Him.
We can ascend, too. Jesus told us that Himself.
“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (Jn. 14: 2-3 ESV).
One day, we will ascend to Heaven to be with Jesus.
At the Right Hand of God
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1: 3 ESV)
After Jesus returned to Heaven, He was given a place of honor – at the right hand of God.
Some of us probably know that this positioning is a reward; and in this case, it is a reward specifically for Jesus’ obedience. We picture in our minds Jesus whispering in God’s ear, advocating for us,
Moule said it was a little more than that. He wrote, “The metaphor (from an Oriental throne, a seat admitting more than one occupant) implies the share of the incarnate Lord in the supreme glory — more than mere nearness to it.”
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Let’s see what Scriptures say.
- “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev. 22: 1 ESV).
- “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (Jn. 17: 5 ESV).
I love that last one. It doesn’t say glorify me in Your presence. It says, “… glorify me in your own presence …” (Jn. 17: 5 ESV).
My being is Your being. God and Jesus are One (Jn. 10: 30), so they share the being.
Parsons stressed that Jesus is sitting down. He gave us several reasons why this is important.
- Jesus is experiencing calm after the struggles through which He went.
- It indicates His authority.
- It indicates it is His permanent position.
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I keep thinking back to the reading of the Scriptures in synagogue. Once the Rabbi was done reading, he sat down.
Jesus has successfully completed the Plan of Salvation. He has earned the right to sit down.
Always with Jesus in Heaven
“Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (I Thess. 4: 17 ESV)
Once eternity begins, there will be nothing that can separate us from Jesus.
Oh, wait! Don’t we have that now?
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below — indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8: 38-39 NLT).
We might have trouble believing that right now. We shouldn’t.
Once we submit our lives to God, we can bank on this promise. It will never end. “… nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8: 39 NLT emphasis added).
Spurgeon explained it this way. He wrote, “As we have received Him, so shall we walk in Him, whether in life or death.” Once we have ABCDed – and put emphasis on the D part – we will walk with Him.
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Think about this. We know we are to walk in the Spirit here on earth. We won’t be in the Spirit in Heaven, but we will be doing the same walk – obeying God. That isn’t going to change.
To read devotions in the Walk in the Spirit series, click on the appropriate button below.
What? Did you think God’s laws were going to change once we get called home? No.
God’s laws reflect His character. That isn’t going to change.
Making the Connections #1
I love what Mangey said. He wrote, “Our [Savior], to oppose narrowness of opinion, requires us to pray to our Father which art in heaven, showing by this, that our petitions have equal access to Him from all places.”
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Our prayers reach God regardless of where we are. We don’t have to be in a church or synagogue. We could even be in a bar, and God would hear a sincere prayer from one of His children.
The prayers of the greatest disciple doesn’t have precedence over mine. Mine doesn’t have precedence over someone else.
Making the Connections #2
Johnson also made a great observation. We talk about God’s goodness. Heaven is the meeting place where we will come into contact with that goodness.
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Yes, we have access to some of God’s goodness now. But God is saving the best blessings for Heaven – after we have endured and become perfected.
How Do We Apply This?
- Believe in the unseen world.
- Respond as the apostles did – with joy.
- Imitate Jesus – be meek and lowly, serving in love.
- Live in the fear of the Lord and hope.
- Work to become like Jesus now so that eternity begins now.
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Father God. We thank You that You loved us enough to send Your Son to complete the Plan of Salvation. We thank You that, one day, we will get to thank Him face to face. We look forward to living with Jesus for eternity. Amen.
What do you think?
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