A Place for You

“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

When our hearts are troubled by the thought of the evil in us and in the world, Jesus tells us to believe in God and to believe also in him (v. 1).  He then encourages us with the promise of a place prepared for us in heaven.  The hope of a place in heaven is meant to be a source of continual encouragement and refreshment for troubled Christians.  This life is not the end of our story.  For the Christian this life is only the beginning of what God has in store for us.  We cannot fully comprehend the glories that await us in the life to come.  Yet it is amazing how much we learn about heaven from this single verse in the Upper Room Discourse of Jesus. 

          We learn here that heaven is a place.  Many people think of heaven as a state of mind.  They do not believe that heaven is an actual place.  The Bible presents heaven as a place that is as real as China.  The Bible speaks of heaven as a new earth, new temple, and new city (Revelation 21-22).  All three designations speak of place.  Heaven is a place defined by the presence of God.  It is where the Father is, and since the ascension of Jesus, it is where Jesus is sitting at his right hand.  God may dwell everywhere because he is omnipresent and not limited by the constraints of time and space, but heaven is where God chooses to dwell and manifest the fullness of his blessed existence.  Heaven is the place where the presence of God is not interrupted by the miseries of sin and evil.  There is no sadness, sickness, or death in heaven (Revelation 21:4).  Heaven is so inexpressibly wonderful that no eye has seen or ear heard or the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9), but God has revealed these things to us by his Spirit in the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:10).  We do not have a full description of heaven in the Bible, but we have enough to ponder our future with our sanctified imagination.  Jesus emphasizes the fact that heaven is a place in this verse.  He says that his Father’s house has many rooms.  There is plenty of room in heaven for the followers of Jesus.  There was room for the disciples and room enough for us today.  I have seen many beautiful homes in this life, but none can compare with our Father’s home.  Heaven is our home.  It is our place.  Let us never forget that our earthly accommodations are but layovers on our flight to heaven.  We are pilgrims who seek the city that is to come (Hebrews 13:14). 

          We also learn from these verses that heaven is a prepared place.  Jesus ascends to prepare a place for his followers.  As if it were not enough to be told that we have a place in the Father’s mansion!  We are told here that Jesus himself has prepared a special place for his followers.  Who knows us better than Jesus?  Who knows our needs better?  Who knows our wants better?  Who knows our personality better?  No one!  “Believe in God; believe also in me.”  Let us trust Jesus to prepare a place for us in heaven that is exactly what we need and desire.  Because Jesus is God and knows all about us, he is perfectly suited to this task.  What does he have in store for you? 

          We learn here that Jesus has not only prepared a place for us in heaven but that he has promised us a place in heaven.  We should underline the fact that Jesus has not promised a place to everyone.  He has promised a place to those who believe in God and believe also in him.  If we believe in God and in his Son Jesus, then Jesus has prepared a place for us in heaven.  But this is a promise.  Jesus says, “If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”  No!  Jesus does not lie.  He always tells the truth.  He is the Truth and speaks the truth.  Heaven is not a fairy tale for weak minds.  Heaven is real.  It is real because the One who died and rose again tells us that he goes to prepare a place for us.  It is not just a good idea or wishful thinking or a hope that will give you a positive attitude but is not actually true.  No, heaven is true because Jesus our Lord has made a promise of a place prepared for each one of us who believe.  Christians do not believe in heaven because they have watched a documentary on TV about the afterlife.  Christians do not believe in heaven because they read a book about a boy who died and went to heaven and allegedly returned to talk about it.  Christians do not believe in heaven for philosophical reasons about the immortality of the soul.  Christians believe in heaven because of the words of Jesus.  Our faith is based in the words of Jesus, not in the reason or wit or science of men.  We believe that we have a place prepared for us by Jesus in the Father’s house because Jesus told us.  And would he have told us if this were not so?  Let us believe his words!

After Death: Jesus

“Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”  2 Corinthians 5:8

“I am hard pressed between the two.  My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”  Philippians 1:23

What happens to Christians after they die?  We depart this life to be with Jesus.  The Bible speaks of three conditions of our life.  The first condition is our life “in the body” (2 Corinthians 5:6).  This refers to our present life on earth.  The second condition is “away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).  This describes our life after death but before the resurrection.  Theologians call this the intermediate state because it is the period in between death and the resurrection.  The third condition is “in the resurrection” (Matthew 22:30).  This is our life in our glorified existence.  When Jesus returns to earth, he will resurrect our bodies, and we shall dwell with him on a renewed earth.  “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).  He “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Philippians 3:21).  When Christians die, our bodies are buried, but our spirits immediately pass into the presence of God.  Jesus proclaimed to the thief on the cross, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).  Christians need not wait until the resurrection in order to be with Christ in Paradise.  Paul describes this state as being “at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8) and as being “far better” (Philippians 1:23) than his life on earth.  Shorter Catechism 37 asks, “What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?”  The answer is, “The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves, till the resurrection.”  So what happens when a Christian dies?  Jesus happens!  We do not know many details about the intermediate state.  We have a visionary description of it in Revelation 4 and 5 where we read of the continuous worship of heaven, but as a vision it is difficult to know how literal the description is intended to be.  We may observe that heaven is a place of joyous song and uninterrupted adoration of the Trinity.  God is praised for his holiness, power, eternity (Revelation 4:8), creation (Revelation 4:11), and redemption (Revelation 5:9-10).  Heaven is God-centered and God-exalting.  We have another visionary description of the intermediate state of the redeemed in Revelation 7:9-17.  There we read the following description of our blessed condition: “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.  They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.  For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:15-17).  Nevertheless, as wonderful as the intermediate state is for believers, it is not our ultimate destination.  Our final destination is the resurrection of the body and the renewed heaven and earth.  Paul explains the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15.  The passage emphasizes that the resurrection is not extraneous to our creed but is the essence of our faith.  So then, as great as it is to be present with the Lord in the intermediate state, we know that those souls still long for the Second Coming, the resurrection of the body, and their ultimate vindication.  They cry out to their Sovereign Lord, “How long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on earth?” (Revelation 6:10).  Revelation 21 teaches us that the end of the story is the creation of a new heaven and earth.  This is the consummation of God’s plan of salvation for his people.  This condition is far better than the intermediate state.  Heaven descends to the earth.  God again dwells with his people (Revelation 21:3) and removes his curse from creation (Revelation 22:3).  The whole world then becomes a temple for the Lord and a place of righteousness, peace, joy, and love.  Shorter Catechism 38: “What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?  At the resurrection, believers, being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the Day of Judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.”  In heaven our full human purpose will be realized.  In this life we should glorify God and enjoy him forever; in the life to come we shall glorify God and enjoy him forever.  One problem that Christians will encounter when it comes to the intermediate state is that we are not given much information.  We are told that we will be “with Christ” and that it will be “far better.”  God will remove the curse of sin and dwell with us.  Yet many of our questions remain unanswered.  One reason for this is to teach us to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).  “But it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).  Another reason for our limited knowledge is to teach us to ponder what heaven will be like.  We are called to enjoy the anticipation of our heavenly home.  Thoughts of heaven should make their way into our songs, prayers, and conversations.  How little Christians speak about heaven today!  Let us employ our sanctified imagination to consider what the life to come might be like.  Christian theologians provide two main ways to ponder the glory that shall be revealed to us: a positive way and a negative way.  First, the positive way is to take all the good things of this life and to imagine a world with more of the same.  Second, the negative way is to take all the bad things of this life and to imagine a world without them.  So let us reflect upon a world with delicious food, beautiful music, fascinating conversations, breathtaking sights, and exhilarating worship!  Let us also ponder a world without death or disease.  Let us hope for a world without poverty.  May our thoughts dance as we think of a world without murder, theft, rape, molestation, adultery, divorce, disappointment, pride, greed, and selfishness.  In his Word God has painted heaven with broad strokes, and he graciously invites us to fill in the colors of our home with the anticipation of our hopeful hearts.  After we have spent our energies contemplating the renewal of creation, we must keep in mind that the greatest joys of heaven will be to be with Jesus.  Charles Spurgeon said, “Heaven is wherever Jesus is.”  When we are in heaven, we shall see the One who loved us and gave himself for us on the cross.  We shall see the One who emerged from the empty tomb to reverse the curse pronounced on the sons and daughters of Adam.  We shall see the One who now abides in us by the Holy Spirit.  We shall see him and be like him for we shall see him as he is.  Let us set our hearts and affections on this place prepared for us!         

Eternity

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”  2 Corinthians 4:17-18

God wants us to have an eternal perspective.  Temporal affairs cannot compare with eternal realities.  Without question our earthly life is beset with light momentary afflictions, but, when our minds are fixed on eternal truth, God is able to make our sufferings fit us for heaven.  God’s Word makes it clear to us that we can look to one of two different realities.  One is the physical and temporal world of this present life; the other is spiritual and eternal world of the life to come.  While it is certainly true that Christians cannot and should not ignore the present life, we are called to view our lives in light of eternity.  We are called to see all of life in proper perspective.  There are extremes to avoid.  Focusing on eternal life to the exclusion of this present life is escapism; focusing on this present life to the exclusion of eternal life is worldliness.  Escapism may be used to shirk responsibilities that we have in this present life.  An eternal perspective must not be used to justify this sort of self-serving attitude.  Worldliness may be used to justify an obsession with the world’s possessions, pleasures, power, and praises.  We may live in this world but not of this world.  But what does that really mean?  It means that we must live in the present for eternity.  This eternal awareness brings meaning to our life now because now matters forever.  Our present life has eternal implications.  This understanding lifts us from mundane meandering through the monotony of life into the realm of purpose and significance.  We should remind ourselves every day that forever is coming and coming soon.  Soon we shall be in either heaven or hell.  Soon we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  Forever is soon.  Are we living with this perspective?  It gives meaning to our light momentary afflictions.  It gives unending hope and purpose and joy.  This day let us live in light of eternity.  Let us seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.