Rooms in the Father's House
Does this title give you a mental picture? First, I hear the song in my head, "In My Father's House", by Audio Adrenalin. Then I get a picture of a big back yard where lots of people are having a party. There is a cookout, people are running and jumping and laughing and singing. There are children and pets, bounding back and forth –lots and lots of joy.
This week, as we continue our focus on All Saint’s Day, we have to conjure up these scenes. I am positive that my meager imagines fall nowhere near the real picture of life in Our Father’s House. My mind couldn’t even begin to wrap around the splendid reality of life at the feet of Jesus. I think this is why people who are nearing the end of life question what it will be like; because we cannot even come close to envisioning a new life in The Garden.
John 14:1-3 (NIV)
"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.”
Truths like the words above make it possible for us to let go of a loved one who is dying. Words like these make Easter Sunday come alive in new ways. This is the hope we Christians proclaim to the world and claim for ourselves during dark days. All Saint’s Sunday is not a favorite holiday for me yet. I dread hearing the roll-call read by the pastors and remember the people I have loved and lost. I am not at that spot yet, but I do know that the ones I miss would not return to me, would not even consider for a moment leaving Jesus’ side.
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