Week 32
John 14:2-3 “I go to prepare a place for you. 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.”
Heaven is a real place, a place where God dwells and the destiny of all who have saving faith in Christ. But heaven is not the substance of eternal joy. The reason heaven is “heaven” for the Christian is because JESUS IS THERE. Jesus is in heaven; He is in heaven preparing a place for the Christian. Thus, before the Christian goes to heaven through death, heaven witnesses Jesus’ preparation for each Christian. There is a specific spot in that heavenly place for the believer, and Jesus is doing the preparation for the believer to come and enjoy the eternal favor and love of God in heaven.
But, again, heaven is not heaven because it is a joyful place. Let us not become enamored with descriptions of the place of heaven, for all the descriptive phrases and metaphors cannot fully explain eternal joy. Why is heaven so joyful, why is it such a wonderful and blessed place for the Christian? It is so because Jesus is there in heaven, and for the Christian to go to heaven is for the Christian to BE WITH JESUS.
In heaven the Christian is with Jesus in absolute purity, holiness, love, joy, peace, fulfillment, satisfaction, and praise. Jesus is the sunlight that bathes the Christian in the warmth of love in heaven. Just as lovers gaze into each other’s eyes, enjoying their time together (their presence together) intermingling minds and hearts, even so, the believer will be enraptured and euphoric with joy and eternal delight to be with Jesus in heaven. Every need is supplied, every noble and holy aspiration fulfilled, and the exhilaration of the moment and the place can only be surpassed by the love and embrace of Jesus forever and ever!
The gospel of Jesus Christ is a love story, and one day in heaven that love story will be complete. The story will be complete, but it will never be finished; Jesus’ love for us and our response to His love will go on and on forever. Forever we will live in glorious ecstasy in the love of Jesus in His presence. There can be no greater destiny and no greater hope than this!
Oh, Christian friend, you are on a magnificent journey to the celestial city! Every step of every day brings you closer to your Savior, to your Father’s house, and to your eternal joy. Let nothing deter you nor distract you from your path and your destination. Yours may be a difficult journey, but the end is glorious beyond compare. And nothing in this life is worth giving up your vision of that consummation of love in heaven with Jesus. Keep going, press on!
Prayer: Dear Father, thank You that in love You chose me from the foundation of the world. Thank You that You sent Your Son to die for me on the cross. And thank You for the promise of our eternal love with Jesus in Your heavenly home. Watch over me this day and every day that I live and bring me safely into Your heavenly kingdom where I will relish Jesus and His love forever. Amen.