John 16 12-15

“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.”

Jesus said this to the disciples in the last hours before his passion. What they could not bear to hear was how history was going to unfold in way all time is measured as having been before or after coming event. He could have told them all, rolled out every detail but they were already stunned with had been revealed. If the big picture was beyond comprehension image how the details would simply have washed away into nothingness.

From where we now stand there is much more He could tell us but we could not bear it. We know the big picture that had been foretold to the disciples. We live it, breathe it and hope in it. We know that if believe and act our days motivated by belief, we will never die but will live forever.

What we don’t know are the details, the bumps and bruises, the joys and sorrows, the beginning or the endings of our life or the lives of those we value, whose presence means somethings. In a world driven by the fall and free choice the future is not ours to know beyond the great promise of salvation. To have our future revealed in detail would not be something we can bear.

There is the promise of the Holy Spirit to present which is not just a consolation but a prize beyond measure. The Holy Spirit comes to us through His Grace to be with us each and every day. It is the Holy Spirit that allows us to not only bear but embrace what comes our way. We find purpose for sorrow, suffering or illness and a deeper recognition of joy, peace and serenity. The Holy Spirit brings us every blessing from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior. This how we can bear what is to come as it is revealed.