The Place

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE PLACE

John 14:1-7

14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going."  5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." 

NIV

As we spent the whole of our last time on these words of Jesus looking at having a troubled heart or rather not having a heart of commotion, we need to consider all these rooms. There is a song that speaks of us having a mansion just over the hilltop, but that must have been taken from the KJV, as it translates the Greek word for residence or abode or staying place as a mansion. This word, rooms, seems to fit the meaning of the Greek word better. Jesus said that he is going to prepare a place for us. Again the Greek word translated as a place means a place, but also properly any portion or space marked off, as it were, from surrounding space. It also is used as an inhabited place, a city, town, village, or district. So it would seem appropriate to think of the new city of Jerusalem as this place Jesus has prepared for us. This is where he will be spending all eternity as the Light for that city, at least according to the revelation he also gave to John later. However, the point is that wherever Jesus is, we will be also. Because we can trust him, and trust the Father, we know, without any doubt, that Jesus has prepared a place for us and he is also coming back someday to take us there. In all reality, it does not matter what that place looks like, as we will be with Jesus. Still, on the other hand, when we consider the way he is coming back, as it is described for us, the place he has prepared for us has to be majestic. When Jesus entered the first city of Jerusalem he rode upon a donkey, the colt of a donkey, signifying a humble king, coming in peace. The description of his return as given to us in the Revelation as well as other references of God with Moses and the psalmists foreshadowing, as well as the very words of Jesus as recorded in Matthews gospel, are all about riding on dark clouds, thunder, lightning, hail,  and the earth-shaking.  Of course, Jesus will also be riding a white horse, signifying a conquering King, for He has conquered death. This is all about the power and majesty of God, of Jesus, and His glory and power are being shown for all to see. We can just imagine being there, being alive when all this happens, when He comes for us. But then, even if does not happen in our lifetime, we will not miss it, for in whatever state we are in, we are already in his presence, but when that moment in time happens, our bodies will come out of the grave and we will somehow be united with this new immortal body, so as to be able to live in this place prepared for us which is the new city of Jerusalem. For now, we are content to be living in a new creation, the kingdom of God, the eternal life he has already given us. So, next on the agenda is getting to that place.