Jn.14:2 – In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
This famous passage has been used to comfort God’s people for two thousand years. I wonder how many grieving spouses, children, parents and friends have found strength through these words at the death of a loved one? Of course Jesus had our eternal dwelling in heaven in mind when He spoke these words to His disciples the night before His death but was that all He was speaking about? If you continue to read the next three chapters of John this verse was just the beginning of His discourse on the Holy Spirit. Our dwelling place that He prepared is not a physical building but a spiritual place to dwell in for eternity. We will actually be in Him and He in us. The good news is that this doesn’t begin when we die, it only intensifies then. We begin to enjoy our new dwelling place here and now because Jesus has died, resurrected, and is glorified at the Father’s right hand. Here is how Augustine describes this verse.
“But why has he gone away to prepare it, if it is ourselves that he prepares? If he leaves us, how can he prepare us? The meaning is that in order that those mansions may be prepared, the just must live by faith … and if you see, there is no faith.… Let Christ go away then so that he is not seen. Let him remain concealed that faith may be exercised. Then a place is prepared if you live by faith. Let faith desire so that the place desired may itself be possessed. The longing of love is the preparation of the mansion. In this way, Lord, prepare what you are preparing. For you are preparing us for yourself and yourself for us, inasmuch as you are preparing a place both for yourself in us and for us in you. For you have said, “Abide in me, and I in you.” As far as each one has been a partaker of you, some less, some more, such will be the diversity of rewards in proportion to the diversity of merits.”
He is preparing us now for eternity. He is being shaped in us now as we are being prepared for our eternal inheritance. The disciples were filled with the Spirit just fifty days later, that’s when they began to understand the power of what Jesus had said that night. He had prepared a place and now they began to enjoy their new dwelling place.
DEEP
This reminds me of a dream I had maybe 10+ years ago. I was in heaven, but I was only allowed to be with Jesus every other day. This was my portion because I only included Jesus part time in my life here. Thank God for His grace and warnings, a lot has changed in me since then and a lot more is welcomed and on the way.