In His Name Devotionals
HEAVEN IS OUR HOME
In His Name Devotionals
HEAVEN IS OUR HOME
“Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (John 14:23 NKJV)
Seeking religious freedom and in anticipation of Jesus’ return to earth, a group of Lutheran dissidents from Wurtenburg, Germany settled on the banks of Indiana’s Wabash River in 1814. They named their little community New Harmony, a town that stills stands today due west of Evansville.
The ultimate objective of those hardy pioneers was to build a utopian society, where in peace and tranquility they believed they could enjoy heavenly abundance in an earthly setting. They surrounded themselves with scholars, scientists and educators in an attempt to assimilate wisdom and culture. They built a library, an opera house, a school, and homes and community buildings using architectural techniques not previously available. These efforts were intended to provide an earthly prelude to heaven until Jesus came to claim His followers. The eventual failure of this experiment was no surprise to those who believe Jesus’ teachings.
Jesus told us with certainty in John 16:33 that His disciples would experience trouble in this world. This was assured when Adam sinned against God. With Jesus, however, came not only the hope of life eternal, but the promise to share with us His kingdom in heaven, a kingdom filled with the richness of His continuing grace.
Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians 5:1 of our bodies, and consequently the lives we lead, as being earthly tents. According to Paul, while we are living in those tents we cannot enjoy the blessings that will abound in the houses God has built for us in our eternal home, Heaven. While men strive to create the perfect life on earth they cannot remain focused upon the treasures awaiting them in Heaven. Vain attempts to fashion for ourselves an earthly utopia detract from our ability to serve others and, in turn, fulfill the commandments of Jesus.
Biblical history is filled with instances of men seeking better lives for themselves on earth, from the Israelites’ journey to the promised land to the rich young ruler’s refusal to share his wealth with those in need (Matthew 19:16-24). For thousands of years the earth’s population has shifted to new locales as a result of man’s search for a more abundant life or in his attempts to flee the hardships Jesus warned us would be prevalent in our earthly existence.
In James 1:12 we read that the man who perseveres under trial will receive the crown of life God has promised those who love Him. Rather than taking flight from the burdens of this life by building walls to protect us, we should live our lives in Christ so that we will appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:4).
Defending Himself before Pilate, Jesus testified that His Kingdom is not of this world (John 8:36). He had earlier assured us that He was going to prepare for those who trust Him one of the many rooms in His Father’s house and would return for us (John 14:1-4). Speaking through His Son, God promised a home with Him to all who obeyed His Son’s teachings (John 14:23).
The New Harmonists, in their quest for a heaven on earth, failed to heed Jesus’ admonition to us to store up for ourselves treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:19) where they would be free of the decay, destruction and temporal nature of any treasures we may acquire on earth. Clearly, when we learn to accept the fact that Heaven can be our true home, free of the sorrow of this world, we can be at peace in the knowledge that Jesus is our Savior and has given His life to prepare a place in His Father’s house for us. By giving ourselves in this fashion, we can learn to serve Jesus by serving others and thus fulfill His commands.
