A Room in the Father’s House
"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." - John 14:1-3
The familiar words of this text have been a comfort for believers for nearly two millennia at this point. And how could they not be? Jesus' departure from the world marked, not the end, but the beginning of a promise. It is the classic definition of an if/then conditional statement. "If I go.... I will come again." The "If", or conditional clause, has already been (or is being) fulfilled, so we are merely waiting on the "then" clause to take place. We sometimes would prefer the "then" to come a bit sooner, but we know the reason is that God is very patient and longsuffering, allowing the proper time for each one of his own to reach repentance (c.f. 2 Peter 3). We are left then with hopeful waiting, because Jesus is preparing a place in the Father's house for each believer.
Jesus tells us that there are many "rooms" or "dwelling places" in the Father's house. In scripture, the Father's house sometimes refers to the temple. The idea of the Father's house is that place where God dwells. It is a holy place, an awesome place, a sacred place. Jesus says he is "going" to that place, so the sense given is that he is referring to the Father's house in an ultimate sense. We often speak of it with the term "heaven." What we mean by that is our eternal state - our eternal home. Jesus' is telling us that our eternal home is the place where God dwells, and in His home there are many rooms. That he uses the term "many" is meant to indicate that there is ample space in the Father's house for everyone. There will be no fighting over space in the Father's house, no shoving for elbow room at the Father's table, no crammed closets or over-stuffed basements.
The idea here is hospitality, welcoming. There is a sacred and holy dwelling place of an incredibly important individual, and He is welcoming the disciples of His Son in to dwell there. Of course that "individual" is more than a mere individual, and His Son is more than just any son of a noble - this is the Godhead! This is God's house! Surely the accoutrements will be top of the line, surely the decorating will be supreme, surely the architecture will be magnificent - all of that. But that is not the point, the point is that we are being welcomed into the house - the dwelling place - of the Father; and in His house, there is a dwelling place for us too. A room in the Father's house? For me? A dwelling place with the most Holy One? How can it be? This is one of the miracles of the Gospel - that Jesus calls us to Himself, and our redemption is such that we are accepted and welcomed into the Home of the God of the universe.
What are the elements of focus in this passage? I can tell you from experience that often we get the focus a little off. We like to ask the question, "well what does it mean that Jesus is preparing a place?" We often mix that with a slight misunderstanding of the passage and think "Jesus is building my mansion!" Have you heard the song, "I've Got a Mansion?" That song is special to many, a catchy tune and an encouraging number - but it doesn't really express the fulness of what Jesus is promising. A mansion? Well, maybe in one sense of the word. You may have read this article to this point and have had thoughts like "well you may think you'll have a room in the Father's house, but I'm going to have a mansion!"
Now don't shoot the messenger, but if we think that Jesus is in heaven building us a 20,000 square foot house all to ourselves so we can live lavishly like we never did on earth, we may have missed the point. The word mansion is used in the classic King James Bible, so people for hundreds of years have heard and memorized that translation of this verse - and they didn't get it wrong, its just that English changes. The sense of the word "mansion" they were using isn't really used in our English anymore. There was a sense of the word "Mansion" that referred to chambers, or rooms, in a large house. That is the meaning of the Greek word behind "mansions/rooms." The word Jesus' chose is a word that basically means "a place to stay." It is the idea of a chamber, a dwelling place, within the house - not a detached house itself. Now, I'm sorry if that disappoints you, but that disappointment may be part of the misunderstanding, or the wrong focus.
The attraction of heaven is God. The attraction of going to heaven is dwelling with God. The attraction is not a mansion, or lavish existence. The draw of our eternal dwelling place is the presence of the Holy One. Jesus' promise to His disciples was just that - there is plenty of room where God dwells, and Jesus is "preparing" a place for us there. Have you ever decorated a room for someone you loved? I remember one year as a child, I went to summer camp. In the week that I was gone, my mother had rearranged and redecorated my room. I remember feeling very loved and appreciative of that surprise. Imagine all the more glorious the feeling of having a place, a room, prepared for us in the Father's house!
Do you think of heaven in terms of dwelling with God? Is that the attraction for you? His presence will be the gem of our existence there. Do you desire heaven because you want a mansion, or you desire God? If you trust Christ, you have room in the Father's house. Now, yes, it will probably be the nicest room you've ever had - but the glory of the place will not be the wallpaper, it will be the owner of the house.
Longing for Home,
Pastor Aaron Frost
April 23, 2021
