Pastor John D Jakes

Think with me for a moment about how important “home” is to us. We talk about, “going home”. Men talk about how, “his home is his castle”. We have all heard that, “home is where the heart is”. Home is important to us. Would it surprise us to know that it is important to God?

As our Lord Jesus headed for the cross, He sought to both teach and comfort His disciples. Since He had some hard words to share with them, He knew that their hearts would be troubled. How did He seek to calm their hearts? He sought to calm their hearts by telling them that home was waiting for them. He said:

​¹ “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. ³ 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 14:1-3

Why would Jesus feel that this truth would comfort them? It is the same reason that Paul told the Ephesian church that believing in Jesus made them a part of God’s people, no longer separated or excluded from them. It is the same reason that the book of Hebrews says that people of faith have always been looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. (Hebrews 11:10) We all want to know that we have a place where we belong. We all want to know that we have a place to call home.

This is what Jesus gives us. He gives it to those who love their homes and are afraid to give them up. He tells them that there is an even more precious home awaiting them. He gives this home to those who have never felt like any place is home. He tells them that there is a home that is more than a dream, more than a wish. It is a real home and they belong there. He gives this home to those whose only experience of “home” is a place of pain or struggle. He tells them that His new home is a place of love, peace, and wholeness. It is the home they have always longed for.

Knowing that home awaits us gives us so much. It multiplies every joy because we have a home to share those joys with. It comforts us in our pain because we know we have a place of safety to come home to. It makes us courageous when we love it because people fight with courage the home they love and believe in. The home of Jesus gives us peace because this home cannot be touched by the pettiness and pain of this temporary life.

What does the home promised by Jesus mean to you?

Something to think about,

Pastor John