Devotion, Heaven # 3

One of the clues about heaven which excites me is found in Jesus’ words, which we read so often at funerals from John 14:2,3: “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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”  Heaven will be a safe place, and there is a special, unique place for each one of God’s children in heaven. Jesus told His disciples that He was preparing a special place for His people. Just think of it! Jesus, our creator, and redeemer is busy in heaven, preparing special places for His people. The King James Version says “mansions,” while other translations say “rooms.” The Greek word, “monai,” referred to stations along a great road where one could stop and rest.  Our present “rest stops” are not the same idea. A nice motel would be more like it.  Perhaps Jesus is preparing a glorious Holiday Inn just for you; only the heavenly version would far outshine anything we experience here.

We had to do some house hunting when we moved to Warsaw. It is a frustrating business. One house has some very nice features, but also some drawbacks, and so you keep looking. Every house you look at has positive and negative features. Finally, you realize that the perfect house does not exist, and so you compromise. Can you imagine walking into a home that had every feature you desired and some wonderful features you never even heard of? Can you imagine finding such a home, and then discover that it was free? That will be analogous to our experience in heaven, a special place prepared by Jesus that fits you perfectly.  You will not be envious of your neighbors’ place because their mansion fits them but would not work for you. Heaven will be a place where you have a wonderful home for all eternity, a home beyond anything you can imagine.