2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? – John 14:2
23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” – John 14:23
Future Home
When Jesus wanted to comfort His disciples in the midst of their present distress, He promised them future bliss. Although He may be going away, some day they would be reunited with Him in His Father’s house. Until then, Jesus assured them, He would personally be preparing a place for them. A home beyond human comprehension.
As we looked at in our last study (http://helpmewithmyunbelief.com/2019/09/06/my-fathers-house/), our homes are where we feel safe and secure. It is where we are loved. Because we are not perfect, neither will our earthly homes be. But if Godly, they can and should whet our appetites for our Heavenly homes.
Who doesn’t yearn for perfect rest (Hebrews 4:1)? Who doesn’t desire complete safety (Matthew 6:20) )? Certainly, we all want to experience unspeakable joy (John 16:22)! In Heaven, the table will always be full of guests (Matthew 8:11), but sin and death and the tears that accompany them will be banished. Accordingly, the love will be perfect and the fellowship will be endless.
We will never have to leave our Father’s heavenly home.
Itinerant Teacher
The Bible is silent on the home life of Jesus as He was growing up, but we do know that during His three years of ministry He traveled from place to place as He taught. In fact, when a scribe once approached Jesus about following Him, Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). Was the wealthy scribe really willing to become “homeless” to follow Jesus?
The creatures Jesus created could boast of what Jesus could not; a place to lay their heads. Whenever they chose, the foxes could return to their dens and the birds to their nests, but Jesus was dependent upon those He ministered to for a place to stay (Luke 10:6-8).
My guess is that the scribe, much like the rich young man (Matthew 19:16-22), decided that the cost of following Jesus was too steep. But Jesus wanted him to wisely count the cost. No one knows what this means better than Jesus.
Leaving All
Before He became a babe in Bethlehem’s manger, Jesus voluntarily left Heaven’s throne. When He did so, He allowed His glory to be veiled by human flesh and blood. For the sake of lost humanity, God the Son left home.
When He called His disciples, Jesus gave a brief but difficult invitation. “Follow me.” And unlike the rich young man, Peter and the other disciples accepted the invitation. In so doing, they left everything behind (Matthew 19:27).
Were Peter and the other disciples rash in their decision to follow this itinerant teacher? What would cause them to leave their families and livelihoods to follow this homeless man? Were they running from their problems, or following a hope?
Whatever their motivation, they must have considered the potential reward to be greater than the perceived risk.
Risks & Rewards
It is ironic to think about. Jesus left His heavenly home to come to earth. He was raised by a carpenter, and yet the King of the universe was functionally homeless. By choice.
Although reared to construct with His hands, Jesus left Heaven to work with hearts. His followers and His enemies alike, often failed to recognize the plane on which He worked. While they were watching the physical, He was at work in the spiritual.
To have given up “everything” to follow a homeless teacher may have seemed like a bit of a risk, but could the disciples ever have imagined what was in store for them? For three years they fellowshipped with God in the flesh. For three years God was transforming their hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.
Heaven on Earth
When we are at the graveside of our loved ones, it is common to hear the words from John chapter fourteen read as a source of comfort for those of us left behind. What a blessed promise to be reminded that our deceased loved ones have now entered into their eternal homes. Like the disciples when they first heard the words from the lips of Jesus, our hearts can rest in the Truth that a home in Heaven awaits us.
But as comforting as the truth of our heavenly homes is, John chapter fourteen, using the exact same word, makes the promise of a present home. A home that the blessed Trinity is occupying today. For those that love Jesus, He promises that He and the Father will come to make their home with them (John 14:23). Today!!
Just as it is impossible to comprehend the condescension of Jesus leaving His heavenly throne to come to earth (Philippians 2:6-8), so is it impossible to comprehend the condescension of the Trinity to take up residence in the human “heart”. But that is exactly what Jesus promises those that love Him!
Heart Work
The Bible tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9). As Jeremiah goes on to say, our plight is so dire and our ignorance is so great that we don’t understand just how desperate we truly our. Like a strong man, Satan has our hearts bound which chains we could never break.
To use the parable of Jesus as recorded in Luke chapter eleven, Satan is not only a strong man, but he is also fully armed. In his estimation, our hearts are safely in his possession. But the enemy of our souls underestimated the Savior of our souls. Jesus may have left Heaven’s throne, but He brought Heaven’s power to earth with Him. As God in the flesh He overpowers Satan and plunders his armor, liberating His children from Satan’s grip. But He isn’t done.
After telling the parable of the strong man and the stronger man, Jesus tells the parable of the evil spirit who leaves home in search of another. Unable to find another home, the evil spirit returns and finds his former home swept and put in order. But unoccupied. Hence the evil spirit gathers seven other spirits more wicked than himself and together they take up residence in the house.
Thankfully, Jesus is in the business of transformation, not reformation. When HE as the stronger man casts Satan out, He takes up residency so Satan can never return.
Loving Jesus
Undoubtedly, the promise that our hearts can become Heaven on earth is a precious promise, but it is not guaranteed. If you look at Jesus’ words you will see that His promise is conditional. Before the Trinity will make a home in your “heart”, you must first love Jesus.
Unfortunately, our society has perverted concepts of what love looks like. However, if we look at the teaching of Jesus subsequent to His promise, it appears that the love Jesus has in mind embodies embracing Him and abiding in Him.
Like the original disciples, are we willing to follow Jesus regardless of the risks, real or perceived? Are we willing to humble ourselves confessing that our hearts are desperately sick and therefore embracing Christ as Lord in our contrition? If we will allow Him to guide us on a daily basis through the guidance of the Holy Spirit we will indeed find that the rewards are greater than the risks.
Temples
Some day, we will reside in our Heavenly homes that Jesus is preparing for us personally. This Truth is certainly staggering. But by the grace of God we don’t have to wait until we cross the river of death to enjoy the fellowship of the Trinity. As John recorded, the Triune God has made our hearts their home until we take possession of our future home.
Forgiven Saint, never take for granted the blessings of God. Your formerly desperate heart, bound by the prince of darkness, has been redeemed by your Savior who took on the nature of a servant. He has washed you white as snow and turned stone to flesh. The perfect material for building a worthy temple.
With the Spirit indwelling you, you are now “sacred”. As the Temple of God, the Trinity can be worshiped and honored in your body every second of every day BEFORE you enter your home in Heaven (1 Cor. 6:19-20). The curtain is gone. Communion with God isn’t just a future hope, it is a present reality.
Oh what blessed promises are ours because God loves us, and we choose to reciprocate the love. It is truly beyond comprehension.