Looking In The Right Direction

On top of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem you can find a guard who — for three shekels — will let you into a small, round chapel. Inside you will often find a group of Christian visitors looking down at a mark in the stone that is said to be the last footprint of Jesus before he left earth for heaven. Some stare for a moment and say, “hmmm.” Others put their own foot into the mark, perhaps comparing sizes. A few pray.

As I stood there one day, I couldn’t help but think, “These people are all looking in the wrong direction!” It is, of course, very doubtful that the footprint in the stone was made by Jesus, but even if it were authentic, the point is not where Jesus last touched the earth but where he is now: in the glory of heaven.

Yes, he died, forgiving us of our sins, a critical truth. Yes, he rose again so that we, too, could have new life, a wonderful truth. And, yes, he sits today at the right hand of God the Father, the powerful reality of the Son of God in glory.

As the writer says, there is “mystery” to this truth of godliness. We can’t quite wrap our minds about it all. There are questions that we cannot answer. But our faith calls for us to look upward. We can take great comfort, heart, and courage from knowing that Jesus rules over all things. We can “behave in the household of God” as people who know not just where Jesus was, but where he is today.

Don’t look down; look up. Don’t look back; look ahead. This message is a joy in good times and a comfort in bad times. It is a “pillar and buttress of the truth.” You can build your whole life around it.

_Father, I have to say that there is so much that I don’t understand, and at times this troubles me, even causes me to doubt. But I ask for enough grace from you to base my life on what we do know. Jesus loves me and rules form heaven at the right hand of God. Help me today to live looking up to him. _

Throughout This Day: Consider what it means that Jesus has already entered into his reign as our glorified Messiah. How does this change your perspective on your call to follow him?