Easter In Our Heart

(Joh 14:1-3)  “Let not your heart be troubled: ye 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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

When my father passed away, those words were on the front of the program the funeral home handed out to mourners at the door.  It’s often used on such occasions because, at first glance, Jesus seems to be saying that he has prepared a mansion for us in heaven. And while that may certainly be the case, he was saying much more than that. You don’t need to read much further in the same discourse to find out what he getting at.

“Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

The word translated ‘abode’ is actually the same Greek word mon-ay that’s translated ‘mansion’ earlier on. Perhaps it sounds more feasible than if it were to read ‘we will make our mansion within him’ - though that was what Jesus was indicating. He wasn’t really talking about building a mansion in heaven after we leave this world (though it may include that). He was talking about preparing a mansion within our heart where we can be with him now.

Living in the world, our life is constantly beset by problems. We worry about paying our bills, paying the rent or the mortgage. We worry about what might happen if we're laid off or became unable to work, or worried about finding a job in a bad economy. We may have health problems and issues or it may be someone close to us, and we’re disturbed and frightened about that. Many are concerned about their marriage, children, or other close relationships. Or else we may be alone, and we’re concerned that we may never find that person we’ve been looking for. As we get older, we are concerned about losing our youth – and our hair. We may be ashamed about something that we’ve done or are doing, or feel badly about something that we haven’t done but should have.

The rich have troubles of their own, because money cannot substitute for happiness, good health, or peace of mind, and sometimes worrying about losing all that you have can be worse than not having as much – especially when you realize that you must lose it all in the end.

I could go on, but you get the picture.  

Our life in the world is full of concerns and worries – so much so that even if we are living in a mansion - mentally, emotionally, and spiritually it can seem like living in a broom closet.  Whoever we are, and wherever we are living, we feel the concerns of this world pressing down and troubling us.

But Jesus tells us, “let not your heart be troubled.” And how are we to do that? “If you believe in God, believe also in me.” Have faith in Christ and he can lead us to the mansion within our heart that he has already prepared for us by dying on the cross and rising again to the Father. If we’ve invited Jesus into our heart and committed our life to his care, he wants us to begin living our life from that place where we can always be with him.

The world has effectively pushed us into a broom closet with all it’s cares and concerns and temptations, and that’s how the world wants us to live – troubled, preoccupied, and upset by the cares and vanity of life. That’s the trap the world has set for us. That’s the wide road that Jesus was talking about. (Matt 7:13)

But even though we are in the world, we no longer need to be of the world. We shouldn’t conform to the world or allow the world to call the shots about how we should feel or think, or what we must do. If we’ve given our life over to Jesus it means that he’s calling the shots. “they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”  His disciples had left their former life and chosen instead to live their life with Jesus. And as Christians, we are to do the same thing. Not only in theory, as some legalistic abstraction, but in practice. 

Whether we are living in a mansion or living out of our car, life is full of troubles and concerns. The square footage of our residence doesn’t matter so long as we remain troubled by all of life’s problems.  

  “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus wants to bring us to that place in our heart where we can let go of the heavy burden that the world has laid upon us - to take up his much lighter and more joyous burden instead. He wants to bring us to that wide open place – to the mansion that he has prepared for us by dying on the cross – where we no longer need to feel hemmed-in by all the problems and concerns of life.

  Psa 118:5  I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.

2Sa 22:20  He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

Psa 27:4  One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

Most Christians have the wrong idea about church. They believe that church is the place where they need to go, for one hour on Sunday, to pray and get closer to God. And while that can be true to a certain extent, it’s supposed to be the place that helps us to find that place in our heart which Jesus has already set up for us - so that we can continue living there throughout the entire week.

Unfortunately, most people go to church to find some comfort and to be with God for about an hour, but then they go back into the broom closet and live the other six days and 23 hours of the week beset and troubled by all of life’s problems and temptations. Yet it doesn’t need to be that way, because Jesus has prepared a mansion where we can remain with him - and stay for as long as we like.

It’s a place where we don’t have to worry about paying the rent or the mortgage or property taxes.  That’s not to say that we won’t have any more problems, but the problems that we face in life don’t need to weigh us down, making us constantly upset, troubled or worried. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. He makes our heavy burdens seem much lighter because the joy of the Lord is our strength.

For most Christians, it’s as if we were given a mansion in Malibu with a spectacular view of the ocean. But instead of moving in, we only go to visit for an hour once a week and spend the rest of the time locked up in cramped quarters. What a terrible waste of square footage!  The more time that we spend in Christ’s mansion while on earth the less disorienting it will be when we get to heaven.. 

Easter is about thanking God for the mansion that Jesus has already prepared within our heart by giving his life for us.  

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Seek out the mansion that Jesus has built, furnished, and prepared especially for you, and he will help you find it. Knock on the door, and he will open and invite you inside. Ask to stay with him a while longer, and he will give you as much time as you could ever need or want. And the more time that you spend with Jesus, the less likely you will ever want to leave.