A pastor announced his resignation and noticed one woman was utterly disconsolate. He sought her out and offered comfort: “Don’t worry. The God who called me away will bring somebody so much better than me to be the pastor next.” She continued to weep and said, “That’s what they said the last time, but the pastors keep getting worse!”
Jesus was going away, but he promised the Holy Spirit as a comforter. What would the disciples do without Jesus? Better. Jesus said, “It is best for you that I go away.” How could that be? Jesus had completed his work, but the Holy Spirit would pick up right where he left off. He brought the disciples power and truth. It is even better for the world because the Spirit shows the world the sin of refusing to believe, the righteousness which comes through Jesus and the judgment of sin in our world.
Do we ever think, “If only Jesus were here”? Remember the WWJD campaign? Everyone asked, “What would Jesus do?” To be clear, not everybody did what Jesus did. God’s plan is perfect. The Holy Spirit is exactly all we need to do God’s will and work in the world. As Peter put it in 2 Peter 1:3, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness . . .” We are not waiting for power and truth. The Spirit has come. Let’s walk in the Spirit and watch how he helps us to do better than we ever imagined.
