Advantage Through Adversity

The earthly mission of the Son of God was near its end.  Over the past three years or so, Jesus had developed a close relationship with His hand-picked apostles.  They had lived and worked in close proximity with each other.  There had been successes and disappointments along the way.  The teaching of Jesus had been challenging at times and the run-ins with the Jewish leadership had been scary, but they had weathered it all together.

            But now the Lord was telling them that He was going somewhere that they could not come (John 13:33)!  This caused a ripple of concern and dismay to spread throughout the small group.  In the short time just prior to His betrayal, Jesus spent a good amount of time trying to calm their fears and prepare them for the difficult days that would assuredly come following His crucifixion and resurrection.  As part of that discussion, He made a statement that likely seemed incredible to His troubled listeners:“But 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 go, I will send Him to you” (John 16.7).  Can’t you imagine most of them thinking: “How could the leaving of Jesus possibly be in any way to our advantage?”  The Lord goes on to explain that His going home to the Father would pave the way for the promised coming of the Holy Spirit -- a gift that would richly bless them in so many ways.  But the advantage could only be gained through the adversity that accompanied it.

            Most of us would probably prefer to go straight to the advantage and skip the adversity.  And, sometimes, it works that way.  But often, the gain is only achieved through pain.  The key is to remain faithful until the advantage can be realized.  To give up before that is to surrender the advantage that awaits us.  Don’t give up!  Endure to the end!  Gain the advantage!

God loves you!

Mike