Encounters with Jesus are life-transforming. They bring great joy. They give us courage and renewed resolve. How good it might appear if we simply camped our lives in an upper room and basked in our Savior’s presence! Yet inevitably with the fellowship we enjoy with our Lord will also come the inevitable command.
How easily the rejuvenated disciples might have determined to remain with Jesus indefinitely in the safety and warmth of the upper room. But that was not on the heart of God. Jesus informed His disciples that in the same way His Father had sent Him into the world, so Jesus was now commissioning His disciples. How was Jesus sent into their world? Humbly. Inauspiciously. As a servant. As one who lived His life to glorify God. As one who faced opposition and temptation. Yet ultimately as one who radically changed His world.
How is Jesus sending you into your world? In the same way the Father sent Him. It is not so you can have an easy life. It is not so you are popular and surrounded by loved ones who support you. He sends you into a hostile world so He can change it through you. Just as the Father was always with Christ, so Jesus will always be with you. Are you ready to be sent into your world in exactly the same way Jesus was sent?