March 27 devotion

You can watch today's devotion here.

A Place for You

John 14:1-2

3/27/20

Pastor John C. Berg

¹“Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.

This is your daily devotion for March 27^th.   Behind me is an apartment building being constructed a couple blocks from house.   It’s good to see that construction hasn’t halted as so many other activities have.  People still need homes.  They still need places to live.  In John 14 Jesus said to his disciples, “¹“Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.” 

I have a vivid memory from childhood that when I heard this I pictured Jesus up in heaven sweeping and decorating a room for me.  That’s not a terrible interpretation.  It reflects the main point that heaven is prepared for us because of Jesus.  But a little context to these verses helps us see with more detail how Jesus prepared a mansion for us.  John 14 is part of a five chapter section that is really one long extended quote of Jesus.  It’s wonderful.  Jesus and his disciples are in the upper room celebrating the Last Supper.  It’s the day before his crucifixion. 

Do you understand?  When Jesus said “I am going to prepare a place for you” he was referring to what would happen the next day.  He would prepare heaven for us by offering himself as the perfect lamb of sacrifice. 

And Jesus tells us that this is a reason for us to not let our hearts be troubled, not to be afraid.  There are horrific stories coming out of England right now in which families are only able to say goodbye to dying loved ones through video chats.  That’s heartbreaking.  I pray that none of you have to experience such a thing in the coming weeks.  But friends, we have such amazing comfort when a fellow Christian dies.  Their entrance into a heavenly mansion is guaranteed because it depends on the work of Christ.  Perhaps you won’t see them in their moment of death.  But you will see them in an eternal moment of life.

Let’s pray:   Dear Jesus, your work on the cross has opened heaven to us.  Use this difficult time to spread that good news to those who don’t yet believe. Amen.