“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 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? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. – John 14:1-11 (ESV)
Jesus is making clear that death does not mean separation from God for the Christian. Death means that, in one sense, you will be closer to God. And ultimately, all who trust Jesus will experience a far greater intimacy with the LORD – because Almighty God has a room for you in His house. Some of you who grew up with the King James Version may be disappointed that Jesus promises you a room rather than a mansion. For those of you who are younger, the King James Version reads: “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” So, you may be wondering how your promised mansion got downgraded to “just” a room – which is, in fact, what Jesus is promising – a room in His Father’s house. Two things:
First, please realize that this is a word picture rather than a physical description of the new heavens and the new earth. Presumably we will travel around the New Heavens and the New Earth and live in different places. Jesus is not trying to give us a physical description of what eternity will look like – He is trying to convey something far more profound.
Second, it turns out that a room in the Father’s house is vastly better than any mansion you could imagine. People don’t write songs about the great hotel room they are going to stay in. They write songs about being “Homeward Bound” and “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” At least when we are talking about a healthy home; Home is a place of security; a place of belonging; a place where you are loved. That is what Jesus is telling us about eternity. The chief thing isn’t what our accommodations will be like but that we will be with God. More than that, you won’t be staying at a motel – or even the Crown Plaza – God has a room just for you. By trusting in Jesus you have become a member of His family so you belong in the Father’s House .and He will love you, … forever!
MEMORY WORK – Shorter Catechism Q/A 101
Q. 101. What do we pray for in the first petition?
A. In the first petition, which is, Hallowed be thy name, we pray that God would enable us and others to glorify him in all that whereby he maketh himself known; and that he would dispose all things to his own glory.