John 14:1-3 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house 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 back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

Jesus has prepared a place for us in the house of his Father. Some of you may remember the King James Bible saying, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” From this verse the phrase “mansions in the sky” has even worked its way into pop songs of the past. I know people who don’t like the translation “rooms.” It seems such a huge step down from having a whole mansion to yourself. They were dreaming of having their own estate in heaven, with all the luxuries and comforts we associate with multi-million dollar homes.

But rooms, places to stay, in our Father’s house (not a separate place a few miles down the road) are a more accurate way of translating what Jesus says in the Greek. And the idea itself is just better. There are many rooms, which is to say that our great, extended family of faith will all be together. A big, empty mansion down the road would be cold and lonely. A place with others in the greatest, most luxurious home there will ever be is the ultimate destination, a place we can feel at home in every way.

Jesus promises there’s a place for you. He has prepared a place for you. Your place in your Father’s house is going to fit. I have lived in six houses in my life, three apartments, and almost ten dorm rooms. Two of the houses, and two of the apartments, I had a say in choosing. The hunt can be sort of exciting, but there are always compromises you have to make–layout, style, number and size of rooms. Even billionaires have limits to their budgets and what’s possible.

But your home in your Father’s house is a perfect fit. It has been prepared for you. We don’t know all the details. What we think we want now changes with time and age. The heaven I envisioned in my childhood is outfitted quite differently than the heaven I imagine in my head today. This much we can say for certain: if you need it in heaven to be happy, you will have it there.

This much we know we will have: a place with Jesus. “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.” Are you the kind of person who gets excited to meet famous people? If you shook hands with your hero or idol, would you decide not to wash it for a week? An old friend of mine has an uncanny ability to get his picture taken with celebrities. His house is littered with pictures of him and rock stars, athletes, and politicians. Another friend collects autographs. Though most of them come from face to face meetings with the signature’s owner, sometimes he will purchase a rare one. Both of these men practically collect encounters with famous people.

Meeting famous people is one thing. There is not a remote chance my friends will ever be invited to dinner at the homes of the famous people they have met. However, with the most influential person in all of world history, the man whose birth determines how we number our years, the founder of the biggest religion in the world, the Creator of the universe and Savior of mankind, we get more than an invitation to dinner. “You also may be where I am.”

He is taking us home. He is moving us in. “Mi casa es su casa.” Jesus is our way home to the ultimate destination, the house where he and his Father will live with us, face to face, forever and ever.