It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.
Imagine that you are an interstellar traveler. You have a vehicle that is able to transport you across the galaxy so fast that you can travel from solar system to solar system in a few hours. Because you are able to go anywhere in the galaxy that you want, the earth becomes just a “destination.”
But the earth isn’t just a destination, is it? It is our world. It is the only place we know. Like a lifeboat in an infinite sea of space, we cling to our beautiful planet for dear life.
Now imagine that there is another world in another place that is not in the galaxy. In fact, it is not even in the universe. The universe is constructed inside of this other place as one might put a ship in a bottle and set it on the fireplace mantle. There is only one small problem with this other placed. To get there, you have to die.
Jesus came from this other place. He came by allowing Himself to be born into this world. He left by allowing himself to be put to death.
Let’s Discuss: What would it be like to travel from one place to another if the price was giving up your body and taking on another form?
That is a good question and what is scary for us mere mortals. We cling to this life even though we are promised that our eternal life is better if we are in Christ Jesus. The fear of the unknown is powerful. That is why faith is so important. We need to trust the Father’s will and promises. Jesus did. He set the example. This trust will lead to peace, which is priceless in this crazy world. Romans 15: 13 comes to mind.
I like your emphasis on trust. When we boil things down in our worldviews, we all ultimately have to trust in something – money, ourselves, science, pleasure, power, or God.
Interesting question – I would be hesitant to be ‘beamed up’ until I truly knew the cost. 🙂
I think this is one of the reasons Jesus is so clear with his disciples on the potential and future dangers of following him – they will have to drink from the same cup of sufferings. Now though not all disciples experience the same degree of suffering, we’ve agreed to it as a cost/consequence of following Jesus – – – but, we have a sure hope in the definite result of following Christ. Eternal life – true life apart from sin is worth the cost. It was worth it to Christ to die on the cross to save us and it is worth the suffering we may endure for the end result.
Great comments! Thank you!
In my younger days I was an avid reader of science fiction. The idea of different “dimensions” or space travel is not new. Somehow, SciFi writers never seem to connect the dots between Heaven as a real place and the world we live in. Real life, it turns out, is much more interesting than fiction!