“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 unto my; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3).
That Where I Am, There Ye May Be Also.
Jesus being assembled with his disciples (except Judas) spoke specifically of his desire of one day having them with him in heaven, in his Father’s house. Later, after praying for the eleven, the Lord continued, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word” (John 17:20). In this verse the Lord began praying for future Christians living under the New Testament who will hear the gospel of Christ (Acts 2:22-37), submit to it (Acts 2:38-41), and continue faithfully in it (Acts 2:42). Now, observe carefully the words of our Lord as he proceeded in prayer back in John 17, “Father, I will that they (Christians) also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am…” (v.24). Our understanding of the Lord’s desire for us to one day be with him in heaven is not of our own concoction, but of our Lord’s own words. He truly wants us in heaven with him. Our Lord, unlike some who have desires but no course of action in making those thoughts a reality, has a failsafe plan in making his desires for us come true. He is not sending someone after us. Neither has he devised a fiery chariot to retrieve us as he did with Elijah (2Kg.2:11). But, the Son of God himself will return to fulfill his promise to us all. “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3). “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1Thess.4:6-18; cf. 1Cor.15:51-57). We have assurance of the Lord’s promise in John 14:2-3 of an eternal home in heaven which gives us great joy and comfort!
