How often I have dashed home from church to get things ready for guests I have invited to lunch! I want to get the ice in the glasses, take the roast out of the oven while I pop the rolls in, make the gravy, steam the broccoli, and generally get things organized so that when my guests walk through the door everything is prepared for their enjoyment. I want them to know by the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen, and the elegant setting of the table, and the sideboard laden with dishes brimming with steaming food that they are expected and they are welcome.
In John 14:2, Jesus was telling His disciples that He was going to dash Home to get things ready for them so when they walked through the door they would know they were expected, they were welcome, and His home was theirs to enjoy!
Our heavenly home will glow and radiate with light from within – the light of God Himself and the glorious radiance of His presence.
I have been in some of the great cities of the world at night. I have looked out after sunset from Victoria Peak in Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year, and I have seen the lights transform the hills surrounding the harbor into a virtual fairyland. I have seen the lights of Capetown, South Africa, wrapped around Table Mountain at night forming a vast, jewel-studded skirt. . . .
But even in those great cities with their millions of lights, there are still pockets of darkness. In our heavenly home, there will be no darkness at all.
Adam and Eve were driven from their garden home, driven from security and safety and serenity and success and satisfaction, separated from God! The loneliness and desperate agony of loss must have been overwhelming. As they looked back, they could see at the entrance to what had been their home a powerful angel standing guard with a sword swirling like a mad dervish, preventing any thought of return. The finality of their separation from all they had been created for must have been devastating.
Since there was only one entrance into the Garden and it was guarded carefully and constantly, it was not just hard to get back into God’s presence-it was impossible! God Himself prevented it. Neither Adam nor Eve, nor you nor I, nor anyone ever born into the human race could ever get back into God’s Presence. The Garden of Eden, God’s heavenly home, can never be regained through human effort. Paradise was lost!
But, praise God! Heaven’s door is opened and paradise regained at the cross!
One day, God Himself will take your face in His hands and gently wipe away your tears as He reassures you there will be no more suffering.
There will be no more . . .
suicide bombers or fiery infernos,
broken homes or broken hearts,
broken lives or broken dreams . . . .
No more cancer or strokes or AIDS . . . .
No more pandemics . . . .
No more war!
You can look forward with hope, because one day there will be no more separation, no more scars, no more suffering – no more tears at all – in My Father’s House.
Regardless of your present
circumstances or crisis,
pressures or pain,
suffering or sorrow,
failures or frustrations,
danger or disease,
memories or misery,
temptations or trials,
problems or persecutions,
burdens or brokenness,
your situation is temporary compared to eternity. And eternity is going to be spent with Jesus in His Father’s house that has been lovingly prepared just for you! That’s the truth! Your future has been confirmed!
