Jan and I are occasionally asked: where will you live when you move out of Vietnam. Our honest answer is: we don't know. We look back with fondness over our many years of married life and ministry: 8 years in Florida, 15 years in Toronto, a combined 15 years in Alberta. We have children in three different states and siblings in another state and one province. So where is home?
It is easy for us to identify with those described in Hebrews 11 "who are looking for a country of their own."11:14 Reading this chapter today, I was struck by the phrase that says God "has prepared a city for them." I checked my Greek Testament and sure enough, the verb in Greek as well as in English is the same one Jesus used in John 14. Read and enjoy these two verses side by side.
I could write a lot about these verses. However today, just notice with me the verb "prepare" used by Jesus and the author of Hebrews. In John the verb is present tense looking toward the future. Jesus says He is leaving planet earth to prepare a place for His followers. In Hebrews the author affirms that future home, that eternal city is already prepared (past tense).
Have you ever known friends who were all ready to move, but their new home was still under construction? We've known friends who've had to rent a temporary place for months because the building was so delayed. No fear about that happening with God's construction project.
I won't "build" a theory of place on verb tenses. I will not enter a debate about the location of our eternal home. However I will rejoice that our - your - new home is ready for you. It is a perfect place. The perfect city. The architect and builder is God! (11:10) Think about it!
So do the Annans know where they may be living in 2 or 3 or 4 years? No. Do we know where we will be living in the not too distant future? Yes. Our new home is ready and sometimes I can't wait to be there!
It is easy for us to identify with those described in Hebrews 11 "who are looking for a country of their own."11:14 Reading this chapter today, I was struck by the phrase that says God "has prepared a city for them." I checked my Greek Testament and sure enough, the verb in Greek as well as in English is the same one Jesus used in John 14. Read and enjoy these two verses side by side.
"My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that 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." John 14:2, 3
"Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:16
I could write a lot about these verses. However today, just notice with me the verb "prepare" used by Jesus and the author of Hebrews. In John the verb is present tense looking toward the future. Jesus says He is leaving planet earth to prepare a place for His followers. In Hebrews the author affirms that future home, that eternal city is already prepared (past tense).
Have you ever known friends who were all ready to move, but their new home was still under construction? We've known friends who've had to rent a temporary place for months because the building was so delayed. No fear about that happening with God's construction project.
I won't "build" a theory of place on verb tenses. I will not enter a debate about the location of our eternal home. However I will rejoice that our - your - new home is ready for you. It is a perfect place. The perfect city. The architect and builder is God! (11:10) Think about it!
So do the Annans know where they may be living in 2 or 3 or 4 years? No. Do we know where we will be living in the not too distant future? Yes. Our new home is ready and sometimes I can't wait to be there!
No comments:
Post a Comment