God's Glory Church

“I’m…going to prepare a place for you.” —John 14:2

Shore swallows, small birds belonging to the sparrow family, dig their nests on the banks of rivers. The development of land businesses in the south east of England has reduced the habitat for their population and there is less and less space for the birds to nest after they return from their annual winter migration. Local ecologists, in cooperation with a company producing sand sculptures, created a huge artificial sandbank so that the birds would have a place to settle in the future.

This good deed vividly reflects the words of Jesus, with which He comforted His disciples. After saying that He would leave them, and they would not be able to follow Him immediately (John 13:36), Jesus assured them that He would go “to prepare a place for [them]” in heaven (John 14:2). Although the disciples were saddened by the fact that Jesus would soon leave them and they would not be able to follow Him, He urged them to perceive His holy mission as a component of preparation for their (and us) acceptance into heaven.

Without the sacrificial work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, “many mansions in the house of the Father” would not have been prepared for us (v. 2). Having gone to prepare a home for us, Christ assures us that He will return and take to Himself those who believe in His sacrifice. And in these homes we will happily spend eternity with Him.

When did you feel not “at home” in this life? What do you most expect from heaven?

Lord Jesus, thank you for preparing a home for me in heaven.

Author: Kirsten Holmberg