May 5 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Nearly everyone on our continent knows something about Christ's birth. Traditionally it is remembered at Christmas. Very few know that the church has also set aside a day to remember the day when Jesus left the earth. Very few ever celebrate the ascension.

We are neither surprised nor angry that Christmas attracts more attention than Ascension Day. That's because of all the festivities connected with Christmas. You couldn't miss Christmas even if you wanted to. But we should be disturbed about the disregard of Christ's ascension within the church.

Why is there so little Christian joy about the ascension? There should be great rejoicing! His descent from heaven marks Christ's humiliation, but his ascent to heaven stands for his exaltation. Christ's birth was the beginning of an earthly life that ended in death. But his ascension was the beginning of a heavenly reign that will end with a complete victory. What should the church be celebrating?

Once there was a rich man who left twenty-seven unfinished projects. He showed interest in the beginning, but he paid no attention to the development of the projects and was unconcerned about their completion. Many Christians resemble that man. They love the start, but they lose the thread of the development and are unconcerned about the completion.

Don't we know that Christ's coming to earth and his going to heaven, as well as the promise of his return, are so many stages in the mighty movement of God to usher in the kingdom? And if this divine project, which is full of the love and power and wisdom of God, does not hold our attention, what else could possibly be worthy of our interest?

The ascension of our Lord is one of the resting points of our Christian faith and the solid reason for our hope in a bright future. Rejoice! The Lord is King!

REFLECTION

Reflect on your own attitude toward Ascension Day and the reasons you have to make it a day of genuine celebration.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.