Heaven

One day when Jesus observed the anxiety on the face of His disciples, He made them a promise. “I am going to prepare a place for you. Then I am coming back to get you so we can be together.” The cross and the resurrection still lay ahead of them. Their finite minds grappled with His words. Here, beyond the cross, the resurrection of Jesus, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter writes a letter in which he describes what awaits those who believe in Jesus. He writes of an inheritance, where it is, and who will receive it.

The Inheritance

God has not only begotten us to a living hope but also to an inheritance. Unlike the things of this world, it cannot be corrupted or resisted. Neither can it fade away. It brings to mind the words of Jesus when He says to lay up our treasures where you have no worries about thieves, rust or moths.

Where It Is

Peter writes that it is being reserved for us in heaven. In Mark’s gospel we read that Jesus was received up into heaven where He sat down at the Father’s right hand. In John 6:38 Jesus told His listeners that He came down from heaven. When Jesus spoke, it was of the things He knew about heaven. The writer of Hebrews tells us Jesus hasn’t entered a holy place made by men but rather the true heaven where God resides. Our inheritance is with God the Father and Jesus.

Who Will Receive It

Peter writes it is for those who “are kept by the power of God.” It is through faith for salvation and it is ready to be revealed in the last time. As followers of Jesus, we are born again and begin a process of working our our salvation with fear and trembling until the day when all of the enemies of God, the last one being death, lie beneath His feet. We who search for that city whose builder and maker is God, will receive an unshakeable kingdom. Hear the words of Jude, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty dominion and power, both now and forever.”

Approach the Unknown

Jesus knew they had a secure future in Him. “Let not your heart be troubled,” Jesus said, “You believe in God.” These men knew the stories of God throughout their history, God had created the world, called Abram out of Haran, parted the Red Sea and promised a Messiah. “Believe also in Me.” It wasn’t believe in Me instead, but rather believe also in Me. He was the way to the Father. He was also the truth and the life. They needed to trust Him as they approached the future.

Where He Was Going

Earlier He told them they could not follow Him. Later, they would. In John 14:1-6, He told them they knew where He was going, and they also knew the way. Thomas, known for His doubts, said it as he saw it. “Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus quickly reminded him that He, Himself, was the answer to His questions.

What He Would be Doing

“You see, if you follow Me,” Jesus was telling them, “it will lead you to the Father. I am going to My Father who has a big house!” His house is so big that when translators want to use the word room, the context of the word, means mansions. It’s not a one room shanty! “I would have told you if it was any different. But now, I have to go. But why must I go? I need to get a place ready for you. Now if I do so, I will also come back and get you. I want you to be with Me, wherever I am.”

Jesus, as a wise Father, spoke forth the words of a secure future, instructing the disciples how to approach the unknown, where He was going, and what He would be doing.

Our Inheritance