Sometimes, I get wrapped up in a great book and jump to the end to see how it will turn out. Does the monster die? Does the good guy get the girl? Does the family stay together? I want to know these things before the end of the book. That's how the disciples were at the point of the story between Jesus' resurrection and His ascension into heaven. Check this out.

"So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight."

‭‭Acts‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭9‬, ‭ESV‬‬.

Jesus answered their question by telling them to live in the moment, in their allotted portion of the story. In other words, the saga's ending was not their part of the story. Jesus wanted them to be Great Commission Christians in their chapters. Many more scenes would play out before the Kingdom could be restored.

Likewise, we should get so wrapped up in what eternal life will be like in heaven and how we will get there. Our part of the tale is still building His people group one person at a time. This is the task of people living during the church age. It's fun to talk about the rapture and the tribulation. There is some benefit in studying those future chapters, but not at the expense of abandoning our role in the play.

God the Son finished His role and went to heaven. God the Holy Spirit would come into the story next. The saga continues. Don't skip your chapters; don't worry so much about how the story ends. Your role in the story is essential to the plot. -Pastor Mike

BTW, Two cows are standing in a field. One cow says, "Hey, did you hear about that outbreak of mad cow disease? It makes cows go completely insane!" The other cow replies, "Good thing I'm a helicopter."