A HOME BUILT BY GRACE

Jesus said, “For my Father’s house has many rooms… I am going there to prepare a place for you.”   (John 14:2)

There’s something sacred about a home. Not just the walls and roof, but the welcome, the belonging, the sense that you are safe and seen. Scripture often uses the image of a house to describe our life with God, and it beautifully mirrors the journey of grace -- prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying. Grace is not a single moment. It’s a whole homecoming.

Prevenient Grace is like the porch light that comes on first. Before we ever take a step toward God, He turns on the porch light. This is prevenient grace -- the grace that goes before. It’s the warm glow that cuts through the darkness, the quiet invitation that whispers, “You’re welcome here.” Even when we’re wandering, doubting, or unaware, God is already drawing us toward Himself.

Justifying Grace is in stepping through the open door, the moment you cross the threshold. You step inside, and the Father embraces you with forgiveness, acceptance, and joy. This is the grace of salvation -- the moment the relationship is restored. The door isn’t opened because you earned it. It’s opened because Jesus unlocked it with His own life. This is the moment grace says, “You belong here.”

Sanctifying Grace is learning to live in the home. Once inside, grace doesn’t stop. Sanctifying grace is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit helping you learn the rhythms of this new home -- its peace, its values, its way of life. It’s God rearranging the furniture of your heart, sweeping out old habits, opening windows to let fresh air in, and shaping you room by room into the likeness of Christ. 

Grace is not just the way we enter God’s family -- it’s the way we live in His love every day. From the first flicker of the porch light to the warmth of the welcome inside to the lifelong renovation of our hearts, God’s grace surrounds us at every step. May we never forget that we are people invited, embraced, and continually transformed by the One who calls us home.

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™ 

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THE RIGHT MAP

[Jesus said to His disciples,] “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that 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. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”  (John 14:1-5 NIV)

Maps are certainly important for giving direction. But, the only thing worse than having no map is having the wrong map. Stephen Covey writes about the importance of having the right map in his book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”:

“Suppose you wanted to arrive at a specific location in central Chicago. A street map of the city would be a great help to you in reaching your destination. But suppose you were given the wrong map. Through a printing error, the map labeled ‘Chicago’ was actually a map of Detroit. Can you imagine the frustration, the ineffectiveness of trying to reach your destination? You might work on your behavior – you could try harder, be more diligent, double your speed. But your efforts would only succeed in getting you to the wrong place faster. You might work on your attitude – you could think more positively. You still wouldn’t get to the right place, but perhaps you wouldn’t care. Your attitude would be so positive, you’d be happy wherever you were. The point is, you’d still be lost. The fundamental problem has nothing to do with your behavior or your attitude. It has everything to do with having the wrong map.”

It seems that there are a great deal of people today trying to find their way with the wrong map. If I just put out the right effort… If I just have a positive attitude… If I just do enough good works… then I’ll get there. That’s why Jesus answered Thomas’ question by saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really know Me, you will know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.” (John 14:6-7 NIV)

Jesus is not only the right map, He is the way. The Son will take you to His Father’s house.

– Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry

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A SHEPHERD WHO KNOWS HIS SHEEP

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  (Psalm 23:1 NKJV)

Perhaps the figure of the shepherd and the flock may mean little to the modern city dweller. Yet, if ever a people of this earth resembled a flock of frightened sheep it is now. Governments are afraid of each other. People are afraid of their government, of other people, and of themselves.

This Psalm of David has sung its way across the barriers of time, race, and language. For twenty-five centuries it has been treasured in the hearts of people. Today it is more beloved than ever before.

The reason it lives? Not just because it is great literature. Because it tells that above all the strife and fears, the hungers and weaknesses of mankind, there is a Shepherd -- a Shepherd who knows His sheep one by one, who is abundantly able to provide, who guides and protects, and at the close of the day opens the door to the sheepfold -- the house not made with hands.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  (Psalm 23:6 NKJV)

-- Charles L. Allen in “The Twenty-Third Psalm: An Interpretation”


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OUR ETERNAL HOME

Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that 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.”  (John 14:1-3 NIV)

The only ultimate disaster that can befall us, I have come to realize, is to feel ourselves at home here on earth.

-- Malcolm Muggeridge

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A PLACE FOR YOU

Jesus said, “There are many rooms in My Father’s home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly.”  (John 14:2 NLT)

Soon Jesus would die on the cross, rise from the dead, and ascend into heaven, leaving His disciples on earth. To help prepare them for life without Him, Jesus explained that He would be going to His Father in heaven and would be preparing a place for them there. He also promised to return.

His disciples were confused, not really believing that Jesus would have to die, not realizing that He would come back to life, and thus not understanding at all what He meant by going to the Father and “preparing a place” for them.

But we have the perspective of history. We know that Jesus died on the cross. And we know that He rose from the grave and later ascended into heaven. Thus, we can be confident that He is there now preparing for us.

What a great promise! If you have trusted in Christ as your Savior, your future is secure -- He has a place for you in the “Father’s house.” No one can stop you; nothing can deter you; no one can steal your hope… because Jesus has promised.

And He’s coming back to take you there.

-- Dave Veerman, as quoted in “His Passion: Christ’s Journey to the Resurrection”

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ON OUR WAY HOME

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 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 to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:1-3 NJKV)

One of the greatest obstacles facing us on the road to spiritual formation is our lack of appreciation for our infinite worth in the eyes of God. No matter what faults and failings may hamper us on our way home to our Father’s house, God loves and forgives and welcomes us.

-- Entering the New Testament Participant’s Workbook, part of the "Meeting God in Scripture Series". Copyright © 2008 by Upper Room Books. All rights reserved. Used by permission.


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