And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Acts 1:10-11 ESV
After Jesus’ resurrection, he spent 40 days with his disciples, proving that he had resurrected and spoke to them about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). Then he was taken up into heaven, disappearing into the clouds.
If I had been among the disciples when that happened, I no doubt would have joined them in staring at the clouds, waiting to see what would happen next. But their cloud gazing was interrupted by a pair of angels with a message for them.
“Why are you still standing there looking into the clouds? Jesus is returning, just like you saw him leave.” If I had been there, I might have been tempted to respond that their second statement answered their question. I’m standing here looking for his return.
But there was more to the angel’s message than that. Jesus had told them to remain in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came on them (Acts 1:4). Then they would be his witnesses throughout the world (Acts 1:8).
Don’t Look Back
Jesus was gone. He was not going to be with them in person any longer. So quit looking into the clouds. Stop looking back at your time with him. He will be coming back. But, in the meantime, you have other things to do.
It is sometimes tempting to look back at times when God seemed especially real to us. Or when our service to him was especially productive. And we might want to return to that time. But we can’t. The past is gone.
Remembering those special times can be helpful to us. And looking ahead to our Lord’s return for us can give us hope. But God wants us to be serving him in the here and now. And that is what we should be focused on while we wait.
