Esotropiart

Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, 'Look here!' or 'Look there!' Do not go after them or follow them. For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day."

Luke 17:22-24

Yup, this is talking about me. It's a prophecy that is fulfilled in our time, and I am not the only one it is fulfilled in. In fact, I doubt there is a believer out there in whom it is not fulfilled. We all want to see Jesus! Sometimes I long to see Jesus or to have been alive during the years He was here on earth, in the flesh. Hey, sorry, I'm only human! I'm flesh and blood too, and it's not easy to not be able to interact with God in a way "enhanced" or "aided" by my senses.

It's not the case that I need to see Him in order to believe. I just desire it strongly because I love Him and want to be with Him. Not to mention the trials of the flesh here on earth are very severe, and it seems more sensory access to God would be liberating and empowering. Nevertheless, I'm beginning to finally realize or trying to anyway: That when Jesus goes, He says it will be better that He sends the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth.

John 14:15 NIV

Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

John 16:7 NKJV

To be honest, I've long struggled with that whole idea. I feel like just recently I am beginning to appreciate the actual person of the Holy Spirit more. I am trying to learn more what His roles are. He is the one in me, the one making the Scriptures come alive to me, the One who comforts me through the massive junk and difficulties I face. In short, He is the very God I interface with. It may even be true that all my prayers go through Him... not sure. I want to learn more about Him, so I don't just look to Jesus and God the Father. I want to appreciate the Spirit more. Of course God is One, and He cannot be divided, nor should any reasoning go that direction. His nature and Person are very amazing and worth looking into. I want to know Him better. I find no better way to learn about Him than by reading and studying His Word, the Bible.

One thought that occurred to me regarding it being "better" that the Holy Spirit come:

When Jesus was on earth, he was fully man. As far as I know, He didn't use infinite Godhead powers and manifest Himself in many places at once. His Spirit was attached to a single body that occupied a particular volume and space - exactly like our spirits inhabit a body, and we can be "located" by a point on a map at any given time.

For someone to meet with Jesus or talk with Jesus would be very challenging. Talk about lack of "quality time". Sure, he fed 5000 people and preached to many more, but could He speak personally with each one and treat them like a brother, sister, daughter, and son? Not really. Yes, it would have been amazing to see God in human flesh. Yes, it would be amazingly powerful to meet God, to shake His hand (a huge hug would be better by far), to worship at His feet, and to have your tears physically wiped away. Can you imagine looking into His eyes? I can't even begin to imagine. Some day...

Nevertheless, it would not be possible for every person who believes in Him to have full, satisfying access to Jesus. Now that the Spirit has come, we each have 24/7 access to God. The Spirit lives inside each one of us who have been transformed by the new birth. He is not limited to one point in time and space.

Of course I don't think this is necessarily what Jesus meant when He said it would be better. Nevertheless, it was a new realization for me, so I figured I'd share it. I'll hopefully have more truth revealed to me as I continue to read the Scriptures. I simply cannot get enough! May it ever be so. It is very easy to get lazy with spiritual disciplines. May I ever be in enough trial to send me seeking, asking and knocking. I never want to have so much provision in this life that I have no urge or need for God. I never want the trial of riches and fame. I would prefer to parry such a blow and reflect it to the fame and riches of God, my Father.

Another thought occurred to me, this time about Christ (reread the first passage above, Luke 17:22-24). In the end times, there will be many false prophets and christs, even the anti-Christ who will deceive many. It seems even the elect may be tempted or enchanted, though I believe God will empower and spare them. Nevertheless, I can see how a strong desire to see Jesus Christ or to demand to experience His presence in the flesh could lend itself to being deceived in such a foreseen time. It would be tempting to follow a person who put on many attributes of Christ, especially if they were loving, caring ones.

Nevertheless, may this serve as a warning - to believers and nonbelievers alike. Jesus will not come to dwell on the earth when He returns. He will come ridiculously fast. So don't follow after anyone who claims to be Christ, and don't get excited when someone says, "He is there! Let's go!" Not only is it not worth your time, but anyone who claims to be Christ but isn't is surely aided by incredible powers of darkness. The last place you want to be is following closely such an evil person - even if there are charms, promises or miracles given.

And He said: "Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.' Therefore do not go after them."

Luke 21:8