(no subject)

[butterbobbin]

When Christ ascended to heaven, the sense of His presence was still with His followers. It was a personal presence, full of love and light. Jesus, the Saviour, who had walked and talked and prayed with them, who had spoken hope and comfort to their hearts, had, while the message of peace was still upon His lips, been taken up from them into heaven, and the tones of His voice had come back to them, as the cloud of angels received Him—"Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matthew 28.20. He had ascended to heaven in the form of humanity. They knew that He was before the throne of God, their Friend and Saviour still; that His sympathies were unchanged; that He was still identified with suffering humanity. He was presenting before God the merits of His own precious blood, showing His wounded hands and feet, in remembrance of the price He had paid for His redeemed. They knew that He had ascended to heaven to prepare places for them, and that He would come again and take them to Himself.

As they met together after the ascension they were eager to present their requests to the Father in the name of Jesus.

- Ellen White, "Steps to Christ", chapter "Growing Up Into Christ", emphases mine

WOW. This is so charged! I never thought of it quite this way before. The disciples were claiming Jesus' promise to answer all they asked in His name. Think what it meant to them. Think what it should mean to us, that Jesus will forever sympathise with humanity because He became humanity for that express purpose. He truly understands and is one with us, and in His name we can approach the Father.

That's pretty amazing.