Your Forever Home

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:2-3)

As a real estate agent, I have the pleasure of helping people find their dream homes. I love what I do. Everyone has a different idea of what their dream home looks like. Some people envision a humble life - just enough for themselves and their family to be comfortable. Others desire an attractive view, somewhere on a mountaintop or by a lake/river. What does your dream home look like?

I can tell you what mine looks like...but you need to know that my mindset is a heavenly one. It's important to understand what the Bible teaches about Christ's followers being "heavenly minded." To be heavenly minded is to recognize that our time on earth is VERY short in comparison to our existence as a whole. We will spend eternity somewhere that isn't earth. One of the best illustrations I have seen of this truth was done by Francis Chan (you can view it here). Basically, a heavenly minded person prioritizes God's purposes and will. They live their lives in such a way that demonstrates their commitment to getting where they hope to be going one day - and that is their forever home in Heaven. A heavenly minded individual sees the "bigger picture" which is that their earthly lives, possessions, marriages, and families are temporary - but God's kingdom is eternal.

That being said, my dream house is not on the market today. It won't be listed tomorrow. In fact, it's not even located nearby. My dream home is being built in Heaven by God. My home cannot be bought (Acts 8:18-20) and it is reserved only for a select group of individuals that want to be there and know the way (John 14:6). The Bible teaches that we will leave our temporary homes on earth one day, be judged, and only those that eagerly desire Him will be welcomed into Heaven forever (Hebrews 9:27-28).

I've been on this journey of faith for a little over a decade now and initially, my mind was not focused on eternity with God. Rather, I was more focused on what God can do for me now to make this earthly life better. While it's true that God can and will bless the lives we have here on earth, it's not His priority for you or me. What we need to understand about God is that He is looking at the bigger picture. God's love transcends earthly possessions, wealth, status, comfort, etc. His love desires something much more valuable for us. He is trying to lead us home, to Him. He sees two paths for us and only one of them leads to Him. The path to Him is narrow, while the road to hell and suffering is wide (Matthew 7:13-14).

Thinking of the Bible like a map, Jesus lays out a clear route to our forever home in Heaven. We've been given the address but many people, Christians included, still end up at the wrong location. Don't let this be you. Make sure you have the right coordinates plugged into your GPS...

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)

What is the Father's will? Is it that we should have the nicest houses, cars and biggest bank accounts? Is it that we should live blissful lives, volunteering when it's convenient, and praying for more of this and less of that, occasionally praying for someone else? That's not what I see in the Word. Rather, God's will is simple - to spread the Gospel and save as many lives as possible from hellfire and destruction.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

This message above is what He wants us to proclaim throughout the entire world and not just on Sundays. Jesus doesn't choose make disciples so He can have company at church services. He made disciples so they would go out into the world and make more. Believers don't just believe...they act upon their belief.

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:15-16)