About a year ago I was driving through a neighborhood admiring the beautiful homes and thinking about our apartment. A longing crept up in me to have one of the homes I was seeing. One of the benefits of reading and memorizing the Bible is it gives God a vocabulary to speak into your life.
As I was growing more desirous of a larger home, John 14:2-3 popped in my mind. It is the last supper and Jesus’ disciples are discouraged by the morbid things Jesus is saying about his imminent death. Then Jesus says this:
“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.”
When a man wanted to marry a woman in ancient times he would propose to her and if she said yes he would begin construction on an addition to his parents home where they would live. Once the house was ready and the appointed day arrived he would walk to the woman’s house with his “groomsmen” and would get his bride with her bridesmaids and the whole wedding party would walk back to his family’s home for the wedding.
What Jesus is saying in this passage is that we are betrothed to him and he is now building a home for us to live in with him in heaven forever. This amazing truth means that for everyone who believes in Christ and is in a relationship with him Jesus is literally building their dream home. Christians can live with less cause their dream home is coming.
It may not be on the water, or have a kitchen or library, but it will be more beautiful and perfect than any home we could ever imagine. What’s more is it is eternal and it is paid off with the precious blood of Christ.
So as Colossians 3:1 says, “If then you have been raised with Christ seek the things that are above where Christ is. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Let’s put our hope in our heavenly inheritance where Christ is building our dream home. As we do, we will find it easier to live with less here on earth. Maybe we never get our dream home or our dream anything. But that won’t matter as much cause we know where we are headed.
Mike McGregor
Mike McGregor (MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary) is Director of College Ministry at First Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter at @m5mcgregor.
