Gone But Not Forgotten

Gone, but not forgotten—a phrase that describes well the truth of Jesus’s ascension into heaven.

He has departed from this earth, but He is far from absent! We have not forgotten him, and Christ has certainly not forgotten us.

For Christ is in heaven, daily and hourly receiving all of our prayers. For the sake of the Son at his right hand, God the Father hears and answers us.

What’s more, Christ himself is praying for us. Sitting beside the Father, Jesus asks him to pardon our many sins and to overlook our many shortcomings. He intercedes for us, asking for all the things missing from our own prayers.

He prays for protection from the physical dangers we’re not conscious of.

He prays for our safekeeping from temptation when we’re too naïve to see it.

More than anything, Christ wants his believers on earth to know the living reality of his love. To make it so, He sends his Holy Spirit. The Spirit makes sure that, although we didn’t sit at Jesus’ feet during his earthly ministry, the Saviour’s words still resound in our ears with truth and assurance every day: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

And here’s the greatest thing that Christ’s Spirit tells us: We won’t be apart forever! In heaven, our Saviour is busy getting a place ready for us. That’s what Jesus said in John 14:2,

In my Father’s house are many rooms… I go to prepare a place for you.”

Where is that glorious house? And how do we get there from here? Jesus doesn’t tell us to purchase or to work or to meditate our way there. He says: “I am the way. Only by faith in me will you live forever!”

For those who believe in his name, the gospel of Christ’s ascension is that He is in heaven, and we are on earth—and we we’re not going to be apart for much longer!

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Scripture Reading: John 14:1-14

Prayer: Father, thank you that Jesus is with you in heaven, where He’s still working for the salvation of sinners. May this truth bring rich comfort, until He returns. Amen.