Shortly before his death, Jesus told his followers that it was good for them that He was going away. I always had a hard time believing that. Until recently.
Earlier this year, someone close to me died. It is no exaggeration to say that – in business, philosophy, human relations, and other areas – he was one of the greatest men who ever lived. As eulogies and remembrances were presented at his memorial service, and in the contact I’ve since had with people who knew him, a common thread is visible. We all consciously want to continue his legacy of wisdom, generosity, kindness and the like. And it’s more than simple aspiration. We’re driven. As if we’ve caught the spirit of this departed man.
In no way am I saying that it was good for my friend to have died. But if he could have risen from the dead… if he could say that he was with us always, even to the ends of the age… if he could truly have placed his living Spirit inside us to guide us… and of course if he had been divine, sinless, and infallible, (which I know he was not), I am starting to get a glimpse of how that could be good.
Jesus, of course, did and was all those things. So maybe it was to His disciples’ benefit – and ours – that His physical presence left the earth. Maybe Jesus really knew what He was talking about. Imagine that.