In My Father's House by Liz Swauger

(Note from Tamra: Good & Perfect Gifts has a guest blogger! I hope you enjoy this fabulous post as much as I did. Check out Liz's blog at http://iamhispoiema.blogspot.com/)

In Capernaum, and other places I’m sure, the tradition was that when a man wanted to marry a woman, he would build a home attached to wherever his parents lived. The homes were splayed out from the father’s home, with each child building onto it. There might be courtyards, but for the most part it was very connected and close in proximity. When the home, or room as they were more often like, was ready, the man would bring his wife back and they would consummate their marriage.

This was the exact type of setting that Jesus was overlooking in Capernaum when He said, “In my Father’s house there 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 again and receive you to myself that where I am you may be also” (John 14:2-3). The illustration was right in front of them!

I used to think, before this past Sunday when I was enlightened on Capernaum-ian culture, that this verse meant that Jesus had to go back to Heaven to make me a mansion. So, partially in jest, when I would do something particularly stunning for “the Kingdom” or honor God in some great way, I would quip, “You are helping me get that Jacuzzi!” or, “That’s okay, I just earned an extra level to my home in Heaven!” After all, the American Dream of more and more stuff must be directly translatable into heavenly “treasure”—no? So while my mind had constructed a giant mansion in (probably) a glitzy suburban neighborhood on one of Heaven’s golden streets, I was struck to have that thought derailed by a different picture.

One house. My Father’s house.

And an image of His Son, building a room for the bride of Christ. And when the house is complete, He will return and receive us there. Not flashy. Not multiple stories and endless amenities… but intimacy. Intimacy with the Son, and intimacy with the Father. It was not about me having something nice separated from God in my own heavenly time-share. It was about Christ bringing us back to be a part of His home with the Trinity.

The gift is that the triune God, driven by His love and desire for a relationship with us, doesn’t just “want us in Heaven”—that’s not close enough. He wants us in His home, not merely living, but abiding with Him and Our Father.

Just a Quick Note

God is good and gifts abound, but I've been temporarily redirected. For several weeks I prayed about what to post and which writing project to focus on next and was a little frustrated because God seemed to be silent on both issues. Responding in my typical Type A fashion, I kept asking God the same questions and waiting for Him to respond the way I expected. However, when I finally stopped looking for the answers I expected and started listening for God's direction, I was reminded of something on my "To-Do Next" list.

I prayerfully compiled the "To-Do Next" list at the Proverbs 31 conference in August. It included big things like rewriting an article for publication and little things like sending emails and checking out blogs. I'm happy to report that I've crossed almost everything off the list. Almost. One big task remains however, and the only answer to my many prayers for writing direction pointed to that one thing: organize notes.

So, I am currently in the process of sorting through and organizing a year's worth of notes. These "notes" consist of vague outlines scribbled in my writing notebook, nearly illegible ideas scrawled on pieces of scrap paper at stoplights, and hastily jotted keywords turned cryptic messages because I was under the mistaken assumption I'd remember what I was thinking when I wrote down "buckets" on a post-it note and shoved it in my pocket.

In the midst of all this, my Type A personality is fretting a bit. My weekly blog hits have ticked up (thank you!), but everybody knows that out-of-date posts cause readers to lose interest. Still, I truly believe God wants me to get these notes sorted out before I move on, so that's what I'm going to do. I've had to remind my Type A personality that I've surrendered ambition and determined to simply respond to God's call. Whatever He chooses to do with that is a good and perfect gift.