The Promise of Heaven
During his last moments with his disciples before being arrested and taken to the cross, Jesus spent time preparing them for life without him. Jesus knew his time was coming short and the disciples would be required to take his teachings and live them out. As part of this, he wanted them to understand that their ultimate hope was not in an earthly reward. Jesus was going to prepare a place, and then he would return to bring them back with him. And in that place, they would live with him forever. Jesus describes this place as his “Father’s House”.
Listen to John 14:1-3
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Israel had a long history with the idea of God’s dwelling place. From the Garden of Eden, to the Pillar of Cloud and Fire in the Exodus, to the Tabernacle and the Holy of Holies, they understood that God desired to dwell with his people, but that their sin precluded them from standing in his Prescence. Jesus’s promise to bring his disciples to live in God’s house meant that they would be worthy to live in God’s presence.
And on this side of the Cross, we can see how Jesus did exactly these things. Jesus absorbed the punishment for our sin that made us unfit for the Prescence of God. Jesus sent his own Spirit to dwell in the hearts of his followers as the guarantee that God finds us worthy to bring us into his presence. Despite our ongoing imperfections, Christians do grow in sanctification over time, and are transformed from the people we were, into the people that we are becoming. The reality of heaven is brought to earth every time a sinner repents of his sin and turns to Christ in faith. Through his blood, Christ forgives the sin and unites the sinner to himself creating a permanent bond that even death cannot break.
All of this sounds great in theory, but what does it mean for us today? My exhortation for us this morning is to let the promise of heaven motivate your faithfulness today. I have seen this exhortation at work in my own life recently in two ways. First, the more I treasure the promises of heaven, the less I want the promises of earth. Second, confidence in the promise of heaven allows me to endure the disappointments of earth.
All of us have certain natural desires: health, respect, success, money… these are examples of things that we desire in our lives. None of them are inherently bad, but none of them are ultimate and none of them are promised by God.
The treasures of earth weasel into our hearts in many ways. We may start to believe that we can earn our way into earthly success. Or maybe we believe that suffering entitles us to some kind of earthly relief. Early in my adult life, I believed that making good choices like delayed gratification and working hard would ensure that I would be rewarded later in life. I married early, didn’t life a profligate life, paid off my student loans, drove old cars… All in the belief that my rewards would come.
As I have aged and received some benefit from these choices, over and over again I have realized that none of them provide the relief that I expected. And over and over again I have had to ask myself why I put my hope in these earthly treasures. Higher wages, prestige, position, all of these things promised great rewards and have fallen flat. But my desire for heaven has only grown as I stopped putting my hope in these earthly treasures. As the great hymn says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.”
Friends look to your heavenly reward of intimacy with Jesus. If you live long enough, you will see all earthly treasures fade away. Your money won’t be able to preserve your health. People’s respect will dissolve as younger, better employees take your responsibilities. Old friends will die and won’t be there to entertain and comfort you. Only Jesus lasts as the great treasure of your life. Let heaven motivate you to faithfulness today.
Today is Father’s Day and it’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate dads. Dads, let me encourage you to let the promise of heaven motivate your faithfulness today. Your wife and children are some of the greatest gifts God will ever give you, but they are not the greatest or most important one. When you show your family that your relationship to Jesus is the most important thing to you, it will lead you to love and serve them in ways deeper than you can even imagine. God’s love is an unending reservoir of patience, kindness, sacrifice, and service. Knowing that God sees you and will reward your faithfulness in heaven can fuel you, even when you feel empty. Fathers, any celebration that you receive today will be a shadow of the reward that God intends for you when you join him in heaven. Draw on that motivation and serve faithfully today and each day.
Finally, Dads, let me encourage you to prepare your children to long for heaven and not the world. None of us can cause our children to be born again; salvation is only in the Lord’s hand. But many of us spend the majority of our paternal energy setting up our children for earthly success. When we do this, we are showing them that heaven is not enough to satisfy them. Earthly success is of some value, but Godliness is the ultimate value. The world will disappoint them, just like it has disappointed you. Show them how you long for heaven and pray that God grants them new eyes to see it clearly.