Empathizing

Goodbyes are so hard. I've had to say goodbye to two friends in the last two months. They're moving away to do the Lord's work. They needed to leave, but I still feel a heaviness at the thought. Before they left, we've had good times, made wonderful memories. They leave with a hope of my seeing them again. Still, goodbyes are hard.

While eating out with one of these friends, I thought about how the disciples might have felt when Jesus ascended into Heaven. The Bible mentions the joy and wonder that they felt seeing Jesus alive, but do you think they were a bit sad when he rose to Heaven? In Acts, the apostles kept asking Jesus if the time had come for him to make things better on earth. I can't help but think this was them asking, at least partially, "will you stay?" When he ascended, the apostles kept standing there, looking up into Heaven. It says, "they strained to see him." An angel had to tell them that Jesus would return before they were willing to walk away. It reminds me of when I was little and had to say goodbye to my cousins when they stayed with me once a month. When my uncle or aunt drove away, I'd run to the edge of my yard and wave as they drove by. I wouldn't stop waving until their car was a tiny dot.

Jesus knew they would miss him. That may have been why he said, "And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

You might be asking, what's your point? Honestly, I don't have one. Saying goodbye to dear friends just made me think about Jesus's ascension and how the disciples must have felt. Usually when I read the Bible, I take in the instruction and when I get emotional, it's more to do with the Holy Spirit's work on my heart than actually empathizing with the characters. Until, of course, I face a situation that a character faced like saying goodbye.

I take comfort from understanding a Biblical character's pain, because I read about how God helped that person and can hope and trust God to help me too. That's what's amazing about the Old Testament. It's filled with stories about people going through similar situations. All the stories reveal God's faithfulness, mercy and even wrath. Sometimes I forget that Abraham and the others were real people with real problems whom God really blessed. By remembering that, I can find as much comfort from their story as from my best friend telling me how she went through the same thing.
So, if I must have a point, it's this: take comfort from knowing that the Bible IS NOT a work of Fiction. Know that God really did provide a ram for Abraham at the exact moment he needed one, and he can do the same for us.