21 Days in the Gospel of John With Levi Lusko Voorbeeld

 Life in High-Def 

When the disciples first heard Jesus say, “It is to your advantage that I go away,” I’m sure they had their doubts. In fact, I think they heard it much like a kid who is about to get a spanking hears their parent say, “This is going to hurt me more than it is going to hurt you!”

“Yeah, right! If that’s the case, I will GLADLY trade places.”

It makes sense. The disciples couldn’t imagine anything better than having Christ physically with them. After all, He’s God. Hungry? Feeds 5,000. Taxes due? Coins popping out of the mouths of fish. Friend dead? Not anymore…

How could the disciples make it without Jesus, let alone have it be an advantage to them for Him to leave? What the disciples didn’t understand was that when God came as a human, He accepted human limitations; like a Ferrari with a governor, He could only reach a tiny portion of His potential.

As a human, the disciples enjoyed Jesus’ company. But His plan all along was not to be with them, but in them. As a human, Jesus could only be in one place at one time. By sending God in Spirit, He would be with all believers simultaneously. As a human, the disciples would watch Jesus preach, minister, and serve. But now, they would see Him moving through their hands, mouths, and lips as they trusted Him to work through them.

It took a heavenly perspective to realize that the short-term loss was nothing compared to the long-term advantage.

Similarly, we at various times may sense God doing things that are not in our plans. Maybe it violates our comfort, our happiness, or our 5-year-plan. In those times, we must ask God to reveal what He’s doing and see how it will be used for the better.

Remember: God turns short-term loss into long-term advantage.