23 THE HOME

THE HOME

"Do not be troubled. There are many rooms in my Father’s home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am!" John 14:1-3

How familiar with Heaven—how well acquainted with that "better land" must Jesus be! He calls it "My father’s home!" Sweet view of our eternal residence!

Dying—is but ’going home!’ Going home to our Father! Going to our Father’s home! And shall we fear this? Fear it! Can we do anything other than desire it? Do we not wish to go home and see our Father? We shall not be strangers there—so many of our Christian friends have gone home before us. And even if some of our loved ones are not there—we could not possibly feel unhappy—where JESUS is!

"I am leaving the world," said Jesus, "and am going to the Father!" Such should be our language, in the prospect of death. O that, with child-like simplicity, we could receive into our minds the testimony of God’s Word! O that we could view death and Heaven—just as the Scriptures represent them! Where would our doubts and fears be then? What would become of our reluctance to leave the world then? Then, if we spoke of departed Christian relatives—we should use similar language to that of Judah in reference to his younger brother Benjamin, "He is this day with our Father!" We would no longer talk of losing friends or relatives. Oh no! we should speak of them as being in our Father’s house, or of being with our Father!

"If I believe in Jesus—is God then my Father?"

Yes, assuredly, for "you are all the sons of God, by faith in Christ Jesus!" My soul, I charge you, in future to look to Heaven, simply as your Father’s house!

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands!" 2 Corinthians 5:1