SYNOPSIS: Jesus’s revelation of his Second Coming and the planned retrieval of his followers to a newly constructed eternal dwelling in John 14:3 – “When everything is ready, then I will come and get you, so that you can always be with me” – is the most comforting and motivating promise that he ever made. Allow his promise to both soothe and strengthen you today because it is yet another reminder that you were “made for another world.” This world is not your home; a better one is coming – and soon! And until that great day comes, your longing for the next world is to energize you for tireless kingdom work in this present world.
Project 52—Memorize:
John 14:2-3
“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
Jesus knew that what he was about to say would upset his disciples; perhaps even cause them to panic. They had left everything to follow him, and now that public opinion had turned against his messianic ministry, their very lives were in danger along with his. Yet this small band of men had still thrown in with Jesus. And now he was telling them that he was about to leave them for another world.
But Jesus made two incredible promises to his disciples in John 14 as he revealed his exit plan that would shore up their courage and give them the confidence to carry on with his plans to transform the world through their witness. First, he revealed that the Holy Spirit would take his place and come alongside them, and unlike him, actually take up residence within them. (John 14:16-17) It would be the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit who would comfort, guide, and empower the disciples to accomplish even greater results than Jesus himself had achieved.
The second promise was that just as surely as he was going away, and just as surely as he had come a first time, he would come back a second time and get them. The next time, he would not come to live with them, he would come to take them to a place that he was now leaving to prepare especially for them. He would be constructing a new home in a new place in another world just for them—that was his promise. And he asked them, as tough as the news of his departure was on them, to trust him on this and to not be troubled by his absence. (John 14:1).
It was this revelation of his Second Coming and the planned retrieval of his followers to a newly constructed eternal dwelling that was and still is to be the most comforting and motivating promise that Jesus made. It is to comfort because, as C.S. Lewis said, it is a powerful and ongoing reminder that we “made for another world”. This world is not your home; a better one is coming!
But Jesus’ promise was more than just wishful hoping for an escape hatch from this world to the next, it was also to be a powerful motivator that much was needed to be done before his return. Just as he would be working on our new dwellings while he is away, we are to be working to spread his fame in this world before he returns. It was precisely our longing for the next world that is to energize us for tireless kingdom work in this present world.
Jesus’ promise to return and retrieve us is still in effect. Just as it was to comfort his disciples then, it is to comfort us today. Just as it was to energize them for kingdom work back then, the fact that he could return at any moment, perhaps even the next moment, is to motivate us to tirelessly represent his cause today.
If you belong to Christ, you were made for another world. Don’t ever forget that. It will keep your heart strong and your hands active—which is exactly how I want him to find me when he comes to get me.
“If we really believe that home is elsewhere and that this life is a ‘wandering to find home,’ why should we not look forward to the arrival?” ~C.S. Lewis
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