Day 3 - Week 22 - John 14:2 - "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."

I love the way Jesus just gets so frank sometimes..."if it were not so, I would have told you."

Can't you just see this conversation taking place between friends...today we'd probably say, "I'm telling you, there really are mansions up there!"  Jesus is kindly affirming to His disciples that He is being absolutely open and honest about their future home.  He is withholding nothing from them that they need to know.  In essence He's saying, "If you have a future that is bleak and grim with nothing to look forward to, I would tell you that, but that's just not the case."

Jesus tells us that we have a future that is glorious, and He is preparing our future home for us.  Many of you may know of the analogy between this verse and the Jewish tradition of engagement and wedding preparation, but it is just such a beautiful picture I have to share.

In the Jewish custom, once an engagement is made and vows to be married are said (a much more formal engagement process than what most of us are used to), the groom-to-be begins building the home for his bride.  He may leave the bride for quite a period of time to go back to his father's home, in most cases, to build a place for him and his bride to begin their life together.  He doesn't really know how long that will take, and the bride doesn't either.  She has to patiently wait for his return, so during this time she prepares herself for her wedding so that she will be a beautiful bride when her groom returns.  Because his return will be unannounced...he will come when all things are ready to claim his bride and take her back to the home that he has worked so hard to prepare for her.  And hear this, just prior to leaving he would give his bride to be a Matan ntm - or bridal gift, a pledge of his love for her. It's purpose was to be a reminder to his bride during their days of separation of his love for her, that he was thinking of her - and that he would return to receive her as his wife.

Now don't Jesus' words just make so much more sense to us?  He is the groom - we are His bride - He is going to prepare a place for us and He will return.  And He has left us a beautiful gift to remember our vows to each other, the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We have a God who loves us and a Savior who will come back for us - we are to be patiently waiting, preparing ourselves for that unknown day when we will be taken to our new glorious home!

"And the Spirit and the bride say , Come . And let him that heareth say , Come."  Revelation 22:17