When they had gathered together they asked him,
"Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons
that the Father has established by his own authority.
Acts 1:7-8
This weekend marks the start of summer and time for families with children to plan those summer camps. "When am I going to camp?" and "What am I going to eat?" are questions I hear. It is normal for us to want to know what is ahead and what our futures will look like. We try to plan for vacations, college, even retirement. But what if I told you, it is not up to you to know when you will retire, or when you are going to college, or which camp you will attend? You probably would resent that you couldn't direct your future plans.
The Apostles knew Jesus as a leader, the Christ, yes, but also as a man, and perhaps like a brother to them. I wonder how they felt when Jesus told them these things like in that scripture passage. "It is not for you to know.." Let us take some time on this Ascension Sunday and think of Jesus going to heaven and bringing our humanity with him to the Father. Let us fix our hope on Jesus, and know that God created us in His image and likeness so we can be with Him in heaven forever. I hope that can help us put into persepective the immediate worries and concerns we have, not that we do not need to plan carefully our futures, but that we not foget our hopefully heavenbound ultimate future!
