JOHN 14:1-4 PREPARATION FOR REAL LIFE

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus gives us the promise of eternal security, which is to dwell with God. But in order for that promise to be realized Jesus must prepare our place and we must put our faith in him. Jesus has made a place for us by taking on our sin and giving us his righteousness through the cross and the empty tomb. Without the shedding blood there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22; Leviticus 17:11) and without our sins being forgiven we cannot exist in God’s presence. The way to the place of the Father is self-sacrificial love. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews explains it this way:

9:26b But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Those who trust in him are those who live in expectation of his return; are “waiting for him.” Faithful anticipation is the attitude of assuming that which has been promised is as good as having already been realized. Although we would be fools to place such faith in anything of this world (experiencing an earth tremor will thoroughly cure you of that mistake), when God makes a promise we can immediately act on it. Our hope in God is that sure, because God’s steadfast love for us is absolute. Thus the offer to us can be realized today in this life, even if it will only be perfectly realized after we die. Through faith we are reborn into the resurrection life and our life and death in this world are stages in the maturation of that life.

Jesus has prepared a place for you in his eternal dwelling. How are you preparing to be received?

Thank you, Jesus for showing me the way and preparing the way for me. Without you I could never be with God. Thank you also for the gift of your Spirit, for it is only through the Holy Spirit that I can know the truth of your word and have the faith to follow. Mature my faith so that my life reflects the reality of your promise. Amen.