Our future glory

Three days after Jesus died on the cross, he came alive again. During the next 40 days, his friends and followers saw him. He ate meals with them. He taught them about God. Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came to give them power.

One day, Jesus and his friends were on a hill outside the city. Jesus was talking to them. He told them to tell everyone about him and said God would send the Holy Spirit to help them do this. Then Jesus began to rise into the sky. His followers watched until he was hidden by a cloud.

As they watched, suddenly, two angels were standing near them. They said, ‘Why do you stand here looking up at the sky? Jesus has gone to heaven, but he will come back in the same way as you saw him go.’ Jesus’ friends returned to the city, and the news about Jesus spread.

Jesus’ ascension into heaven was sudden but amazingly glorious. We have been told that Jesus will return one day in the same way he left Earth over 2,000 years ago. Many believe this is a metaphor for something else and that Jesus will return with a sword, flashes of light and earthquakes. Jesus came at Christmas quietly and with humility. He left Earth, rising into the clouds. Whatever we believe, as Christians, we know that we share in Christ’s glory – that is our future hope. In the meantime, let’s do what Jesus said to do and make more disciples.

Lutheran Tract Mission (LTM) has many resources to help you share the future glory with our Heavenly Father that we have been promised. Look at the LTM website at www.ltm.org.au and search for ascension and eternal life. See what you can use to make disciples and share the glorious future we have in heaven.

Don’t just sit around and wait for our future glory; get moving and make disciples!

‘So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal’ (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Anne Hansen is Lutheran Tract Mission’s Tract Development Officer.