Heaven Is A Wonderful Place!
Devotions for Growing Christians
Heaven Is A Wonderful Place!
John 14:1-6 - ”Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 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. 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?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
“Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace. I’m going to see my Savior’s face! Heaven is a wonderful place!” The words of this old praise song capture the essential truth of why Heaven is a wonderful place. It’s a wonderful place because we will see our Savior face to face, and be with Him forever! That is the sure hope of every true believer.
The Bible doesn’t tell us everything about Heaven, but it gives us enough information to show us how to get to Heaven, and to excite us about being there! You can’t find more clear and concise directions on how to get to Heaven than the words of our Lord Jesus when Thomas, one of our Lord’s disciples, specifically asked Jesus the way to Heaven. The Lord responded, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6).
This one statement of truth eliminates all other world “religions” and philosophies, and all man-made constructs of the way to Heaven. If any person anywhere in the world is truly seeking the truth, and the way to Heaven and eternal life, God will in some way lead that person step by step to Himself. Romans 1:20 leaves no doubt that God has given everyone enough evidence of Himself through what we can readily observe in creation - so no one has an excuse not to respond to the one true God.
In addition to clearly showing us the way to Heaven, the first few verses of John 14 should excite us about being in Heaven. After considering the background for this Scripture, we’ll look at three truths the Lord revealed about Heaven, and why it’s such a wonderful place.
Background Notes
The section of the Gospel of John that’s known as the “Upper Room Discourses” begins in chapter 13. Jesus gave these talks during the Lord’s last supper with His disciples. Besides washing His disciples’ feet and instituting of the Lord’s Supper, the Lord Jesus took time to give final instructions and comfort to His disciples before He went to the cross.
The disciples were bewildered and discouraged. Why? First, the Lord had told them that He was going to be crucified. John 12:32-33: “‘‘And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.’ This He said, signifying by what death He would die.” Then He had revealed to them that one of them would be a traitor. John 13:21: “When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.’”
Moving on, the Lord told them that He was going to leave them. John 13:33: ”Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’’so now I say to you.” Then Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times. John 13:38: “Jesus answered him, ‘Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.’” So I think we can understand why the disciples were bewildered, troubled, and discouraged. And I think we would have felt the same way!
It was in this context, then, that the Lord said to them, “Let not your hearts be troubled”!
In the next two verses the Lord explained that He was not going to leave them permanently. He was going away to prepare a future place for them, and He promised that He would come again for them. He assured them that they would be with Him again. (This, by the way, is not a reference to the death of the believer - it is a reference to the return of the Lord Jesus.)
So in these first three verses of John 14 we not only have a description of Heaven, but we also have the promise of the Lord’s return. Now let’s ask a theological question. To what “return” did the Lord refer here? Is this the rapture of the Church, or is it the return of the Lord to the earth to set up His kingdom? And what’s the difference?
Doctrinal Points
1. I will come back
First, let’s discuss the return of the Lord to set up His kingdom. In the Olivet Discourse our Lord taught about the future. When He spoke of His return in power, glory, and judgment to this earth, He was speaking about His return to the earth to set up His kingdom. The Olivet Discourse is found in Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Let’s read Matthew 24:29-30: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” This passage describes the return of the Lord to earth to set up His kingdom. All the Old Testament passages dealing with the coming of the Messiah to set up His kingdom on earth appear to refer to this same return – the one of which our Lord spoke in the Olivet Discourse.
However, in the Epistles (letters specifically written to Christians), we see a “return of the Lord” that appears to be different. When the epistles speak of the Lord’s “return,” He doesn’t return to earth in power, glory, and judgment. No cosmic signs are mentioned in association with this return. He’s not seen by everyone on earth. This return does not seem to occur after the time of great trouble on the earth mentioned in the Olivet Discourse. And it appears to occur before the end-time period of tribulation.
In the Epistles, the Lord returns specifically for the Church. At this coming, the Lord comes to the air, not to the earth, and Christians will be “caught up” to meet the Him in the air. That’s why this coming of the Lord is sometimes called the Rapture. The term “rapture” can be confusing, because today the word “rapture” describes an ecstatic emotional state. However, the word “rapture” is derived from the Latin word rapere, that means “to seize” or to “catch up.” From this same root word we get the term “raptor” for an bird that snatches up its prey into the air.
There are two specific passages in the Epistles about the return of the Lord to the air – 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 speaks of the event that we sometimes call the “rapture” of the Church, because believers will be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air: “For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
So there is a difference, then, between the return of the Lord to earth to set up His kingdom, and the return of the Lord to “catch His people up” to be with Him.
These two great passages in the epistles, 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4, deal with the “rapture of the Church.” All the passages in the Old Testament and in the Gospels that refer to the return of the Lord look ahead to time when the Lord will return to earth to set up His kingdom - but there’s one exception! There is one passage in the Gospels that appears to refer to the rapture of the Church, and it is John 14:2-3. Notice verse 3 again: “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.” We believe this verse refers to the coming of the Lord to the air, to catch His people up to be with Him - the rapture of the Church.
2. Heaven is a place where "it doesn't get any better than this!"
“It doesn’t get any better than this!” I’m sure you’ve heard that expression used before, right? We use it all the time! Imagine sitting on a beach in the Caribbean (especially in the winter!) - warm sunshine, turquoise water lapping the beach, a tall glass of iced tea – and we think to ourselves, “It doesn’t get any better than this!” Or maybe it’s a beautiful day in the mountains during ski season, with clear blue skies, crisp air, perfect snow conditions, and we exult - “It doesn’t get any better than this!”
Well, it does get better than that - much better!! Heaven is the only place where we will truly say, “It doesn’t get any better than this!” Let’s briefly look at three reasons why Heaven is the place where “It doesn’t get any better than this!”
- Heaven is a place called Home!
“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”(v2). “My Father’s house,” or Heaven, is a place called home. That’s really the idea that the Lord is conveying with the phrase, “in My Father’s house are many mansions…” This verse may have given some of us the idea that we’ll each have our own big, beautiful, private mansion when we get to Heaven. But no - that’s not the idea! The Lord’s meaning here is that there are many rooms in the Father’s house. There’s room for everyone! We will all be at home together as one big happy family - God’s forever family!
Heaven is our home! Maybe the best way we could capture the idea is to think of going “home for the holidays.” Now if that phrase gives you a warm happy feeling because you’re thinking of the whole family gathered together for Thanksgiving or Christmas - sitting together around the fireplace, sharing fun times, family secrets, and happy memories - then you’re getting close to the concept expressed here by our Lord. Heaven is HOME! And the great thing is - it won’t end after the holidays! It’s eternal!
- Heaven is a place that is being prepared for us!
“I go to prepare a place for you”(v2). Heaven is especially prepared for us by the Lord Jesus! The Lord knows all about us – after all, He created us. Certainly He knows what’s going to be the best for us. Now I know that some of you are hoping that there’s golf in Heaven, or skiing in Heaven, or great entertainment in Heaven, or maybe even great-tasting guilt-free food in Heaven! Well, all joking aside, Heaven will be the greatest, because the Lord has prepared it just for us! And if you’re a believer, you will be there. Our eternal home is specifically prepared for us.
- The Lord Jesus is there!
The Lord Jesus is there, and He wants us to be there, too! “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.” The Lord wants us to be with Him forever, and it’s going to be great!
Did you ever make a trip somewhere, expecting to see someone special, but when you got there, that special person wasn’t there? What a disappointment! Well, nothing like that happen in Heaven, because our Lord Jesus will be there! The Lord Jesus Himself is coming to get us, to personally take us with Him to Heaven. He promised that He’ll “receive us unto Himself.”
Jesus wants us to be with Him! And we’ll be with Him forever! 1 Thessalonians 4:17 says, “And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” Heaven is the place where “it doesn’t get any better than this!”
Practical Application
When you’re discouraged - think about Heaven!
Look again at verse 1: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.” In other words, the Lord was telling the disciples, “Right now you’re discouraged, but you believe in God, even though you can’t see Him. Now trust in Me the same way, even though I’m going away for a while and you won’t see Me physically here on this earth. But cheer up! Don’t be sad! You can be sure that even though you can’t see Me, I’ll be thinking of you. In fact, I’ll be preparing a wonderful, special place for you - and when it’s ready I’ll come back for you, and take you to be with Me forever!”
The Lord told them about Heaven to cheer them up, and to encourage them, so let’s follow the Lord’s advice. When we’re discouraged, let’s think about Heaven! When you’re discouraged with your job, or your ministry, or your health, or your circumstances, remember: it’s not a permanent situation. It’s temporary! Let’s think about Heaven when we’re discouraged.
Here’s a rather trite illustration: I get discouraged when things that are new get damaged for the first time. That really bothers me. Take, for example, a new dining table, or a new car. It won’t be long before that pristine surface gets a scratch or a “ding”! Even though it may be only a small mark, I tend to think, “Why did that have to happen? That’s so disappointing and discouraging!”
Well, we’re all vulnerable to discouragement from all kinds of different sources. So how can we cheer up? We can think about Heaven! It helps to put our discouraging circumstances into perspective if we think: “A hundred years from now, what difference will those little dings or scratches make? No big deal!”
Think about Heaven! It’s very practical. No matter what problem or circumstance makes you vulnerable to discouragement, think about Heaven! Think about Heaven when you’re discouraged!
- Dave Reid