Headed Home

“After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” Acts 1:9

Going away is great, but getting back home is always good. Jesus surely thought so as He stood on a hill outside of town. The time had come for His return, and He was ready. Thirty-three years is a long time to be gone—gone from unending glory, brilliant perfection, and side-by-side unity with the Father. He must have really missed home.

But, oh, the places He’d been. He’d been crowded in a virgin’s womb, cradled in a borrowed manger, and rushed cross-country to escape an evil king. He’d been tempted in the lonely wilderness, baptized in the chilly Jordan, and questioned at the crowded temple. He’d been cheered by cheaters, anointed by sinners, and toasted by tax collectors. He’d been discounted by the jealous, deserted by the fickle, and followed by the faithful. And at the end of the day, He’d been arrested in a garden and nailed to a cross.

Nothing could have kept Him from coming, but now it was time to go. After bestowing power and a purpose on those He loved, Jesus left. Just like that. “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight”(Acts 1:9). Defying all natural laws that keep our feet firmly on the ground, Jesus simply floated up and away.

As the disciples stood gawking and gazing, two men in white appeared and asked, “Why are you standing here looking into the sky? The same One who went up will come back down the same way”(Acts 1:10-12). “In my Father’s house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you…I will come back and take you to be with me”(Jn 14:1-3).

Jesus’ first homecoming was heavenly, and next time around, we get to go too.
There really is no place like home.