John 14:1-3, The Father’s House

Tobin Perry was a Missionary in India for 2 years. He wrote about missing home. But it wasn’t so much the physical distance, or even the food, though he did miss McDonald’s. But it was the societal rules, the different customs, the values that were hard to understand.

He compared that experience to heaven and how, as Christians, we are just strangers and foreigners. When we become heaven’s citizens, “this world is not our home.” Then he says this: “That ache in your heart for something more to the Christian life is normal. It’s God’s gentle call of heaven.”

In our passage today, there’s an ache in the heart of the apostles. They were filled with sorrow, fear, and confusion. There’s a sense of foreboding as they left the upper room of the Passover headed toward Gethsemane’s Garden.

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me” (Jn. 14:1).

It was in that dark hour that He interjected light and offered the hope of a better day, a better environment, and a better home. He spoke of “the Father’s House.”

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Jesus’ words still speak to the troubled, hurting heart today.

#1 Faith is the antidote to fear.

He knew their fears, their uncertainty, and their confusion. And He knows our worries too. LeRoy Brownlow once calculated that there are over 365 “fear nots” in the Bible–one for every day of the year.

There is an old adage that says, “Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. And no one was there. Jesus calls on us to “have faith in God.” He who overcame death rules and reigns today. He offers help and hope.

#2 “In my Father’s House are many mansions.”

Some render the word “mansion” as dwelling places. Either way, Jesus speaks of a heavenly abode. Not an earthly dwelling, but a Divine, eternal dwelling for those who believe in Jesus (Jn. 8:32) and keep His commandments (Jn. 14:6).

#4 A prepared place

Jesus affirmed that Heaven is a real place. It’s not the figment of the overworked imagination of a fundamentalist preacher. It’s not a state of mind. It’s not some higher echelon of Nirvana. It’s not “pie in the sky.”

Heaven is a place. A real place. Heaven is identified in the Bible as a…

• Kingdom (2 Pet. 1:11),
• Inheritance (1 Pet. 1:4),
• Country (Heb. 11:16),
• City (Rev. 21:2),
• Home (Jn. 14:2-3)

One unknown author expressed it this way. “Jesus Himself is preparing a place for you. The Carpenter of Nazareth is building your eternal dwelling. Every nail of the cross was part of the preparation. Through His death, resurrection, and ascension, He has opened the way for us to dwell with God forever.”

#5 Dwelling in Christ’s presence

Jesus’ promise extends to this wonderful expectation: “I will come again and receive you to Myself.”

Heaven’s hope lies beyond its perpetual beauty, its pearly gates, streets of gold, or unfading flowers and light; it’s the promises of Divine reunion. As one writer said, “The heart of heaven is the presence of Christ.” It’s where the Father dwells. And the Holy Spirit resides. And we will be reunited with the Divine Family.

Furthermore, we will share in this eternal reunion with our friends, family, and brethren who also have inherited this home and dwell together forever.

Today, if you feel troubled, are experiencing pain, problems, or the pressures of life that are burdening your spirit, remember this–Jesus knows. Jesus cares. He has not forgotten you. And He has prepared a place for you.

In the meantime, we “walk by faith, and not by sight.” We trust the Savior who promised to come again and take us home, where every troubled heart will be healed and have peace.

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman