Mom Has Moved In

My mother has been a bit of a vagabond over her life.  After she grew up in the house in which her own mother was born, she has lived in a variety of places – a farm; a small tract home where my sister and I grew up; a nicer house (the American way, right?); and then a series of apartments.  She moved in with me many years ago, and finally spent the last 10 or so years living with my gentle sister and her husband.  Mom passed away two days ago.

Our loving and merciful God allowed Mom to quietly and peacefully step from this complicated, troublesome life into one where there is no pain, no sickness, and no tears.  That’s a lot different place than this one right now!  I can only imagine that when Mom arrived, some of those closest to her spent a little time getting re-acquainted and then showed her to her room.  Mom has moved in now and won’t have to relocate again.

Jesus promised all of us who have trusted Him for our salvation that He would make a place for us to go when we leave this life:

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.  There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.  If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?   When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.    John 14:1-3 NLT

Mom had made her reservation quite some time ago but apparently her room wasn’t ready yet.  Or at least God hadn’t finished using her here.  So many have expressed their love for her as she did for them.  That’s a pretty special thing in this crazy, mixed up existence we call life.  Now the only issue Mom has to contend with will be the singing coming from down the hall.

It’s important for us all to notice that there is “more than enough room in my Father’s home”.  Plenty of room for me and you.  I’ve got my reservation booked and I hope you do, too.  This morning, the Spirit of God might have revealed something that I never quite understood before.  I was walking and reciting the Shepherd’s Psalm, Psalm 23, and when I got to the last part, I was struck by what I had just spoken aloud:

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.   Psalm 23:6 NLT

For some reason, I had always read that last line and imagined gathering in the cathedral in heaven forever.  “House of the Lord” just always meant “church” to me.  This morning, I realized that David was writing about the same house about which Jesus was speaking in John 14.  The old King James Version of John starts out “In my Father’s house” just the same as Psalm 23.  We will dwell in our Father’s house forever. 

In the world of the New Testament, when a son had grown up in his father’s house, he would seek a wife for himself.  Then, rather than move out and start from scratch, the son would build an addition to the father’s house.  Once he had “prepared a place” for his bride, he would go to her home and bring her to the prepared place so that she could live with him – in his father’s house.  Based on what Scripture says, I believe that when Jesus was on the cross, He was praying through the Psalms.  When He got to the last line of Psalm 23, I’m sure His heart was moved because just the night before, He told His disciples He was going to prepare a place for them in that very house.  Now He was ready to go and make things ready.  For them and for you and for me.  And Mom.  She’s moved in now.