Now when He spoke these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
Acts 1:9
What the disciples experienced on the morning of Pentecost was a new beginning. It was not only a new beginning for them, but it marked a new beginning for all of us. But in order for them to experience Pentecost, they had to experience the loss of the ascension.
The ascension was an ending—an ending to a relationship that was filled with love and loyalty. The first disciples were not going to have Jesus in the flesh with them anymore. In order to grow and bear fruit, change must occur. Everything that lives changes. Change has two basic realities: an ending of some sort and a beginning of some sort. Some people desperately want to move forward, but are unwilling to bring necessary things to an end.
Think about the wonderful realities that we would not have were it not for endings. What if Abraham never left Ur, Israel never left Egypt, or David never left the sheep to step into a battle with Goliath? Where would they have ended up? Would we even know their names? The old covenant ended so the new and better covenant could begin. Jesus left heaven and came to earth. Jesus was not afraid of endings because He knew the reality of new beginnings.
A shortcut to a wasted life is to resist change. We may not like change, but we will like being irrelevant even less. Oftentimes, the misery, pain, and even loss of joy and peace in our experiences are the result of our unwillingness to make an ending with something that is necessary. Jesus knew that His going away was going to cause the disciples pain and sorrow. He acknowledged that in John 16. However, He still knew that staying with them to protect them from sorrow was not what was best for them, Him, or the world.
Oftentimes, we do not make necessary endings because we are afraid of the pain, sorrow, or discomfort we or others may feel. We must learn that endings are a normal part of life, and that refusing to end what is necessary eventually will become damaging to everyone involved.
Here is how Jesus communicated to the His first disciples when it was time for Him to go to the Father. Taken from John 16:5-6: First, Jesus thought about how His decision was going to affect the disciples. Love considers the other person, and that is what Jesus did. He acknowledged and validated their feelings. He did not say, “Hey guys, you should not feel sorrow.” He recognized it. But He did not own their feelings or how they responded to those feelings. Jesus knew they were experiencing sorrow, and He could empathize, but that does not mean He made them feel that way or was responsible for how they were handling it. Jesus was not at fault for how they would respond.
Furthermore, He looked towards the future, not the present. He knew that if He went away, the Holy Spirit would come and dwell in them, and that was better for them than if He stayed. He was still considering them and doing what was best, even though they did not understand. That is what love does. Then, He intentionally made the decision to leave. He was aware of their pain, sorrow, and loss, but He knew that the future blessings, benefit, and gain were worth it. That is love making a hard decision.
He told the disciples in John 14:28 that if they loved Him, they would be happy that He was going to the Father. He was teaching them how love responds to endings. He was not telling them to ignore their feelings. He was saying that their love for Him should cause them to see above their own pain, sorrow, and loss, and be happy for Him.
We may not be able to end something that needs to be ended if we do not trust God with our life, pain, or future, as well as those of others. We can trust God with the future. The future will be good because the One who holds it is good. Something must end for something new to begin. You will never have a Pentecost if there is never an ascension.
Are there endings in your life that you have not been willing or able to make? Are you hanging on to what is good at the cost of something better? Are you resisting certain decisions out of fear of how someone might feel or respond?