If this were a normal Christmas, I imagine that many of us would be preparing to have guests over for the holidays.

We’d be spiffing up the house, decorating the Christmas tree, and getting the guest bedroom ready for overnight visitors.

We might also be planning the decorations for the dining table: choosing which candles and flowers to use, bringing out the best china, or making whimsical place cards.

It’s fun to prepare for guests, isn’t it? Selecting special touches that you know they’ll like, ensuring that they’ll be comfortable, even customizing things so that each guest feels cherished.

This year, however, COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into our Christmas plans. For many of us, preparing for guests is something that’s off the menu.

But did you know that there’s someone who’s still preparing a place for you, pandemic or not?

That person is Jesus.

Jesus tells His followers that He is getting a special place ready for each of them in His Father’s house in Heaven.

Not for Christmas, but for eternity.

“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:2-3 AMP)

We don’t know what these dwelling places will look like. Will they be individual mansions like some of the stately homes here on earth? Or will they be more like sumptuous apartments in a palace? Scripture doesn’t tell us what form they’ll take.

But we do know how deeply Jesus loves us. Would He take any less care in preparing dwelling places for us than we do when preparing for holiday guests?

No, Jesus would go over the top in preparing eternal homes for those who’ve believed in His atoning work on the Cross. He would spare no expense in fashioning just the right abode for those who’ve trusted in His saving power.

For those who’ve built their lives around Him, Jesus is preparing accommodations that will take our breath away. Because if the very streets of Heaven are paved with gold, how dazzling must the buildings be?

We know the eternal dwelling places Jesus is preparing for us will be awesome because we know the heart of God is generosity. We can see evidence of His beneficence in the sacrifice of His Son and the gift of eternal life to those who believe in Him, in His provision of the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures to guide us, in Creation, in His love and mercy, in the comfort and wisdom He provides, and in the inheritance and rewards He has promised us.

God is nothing if not generous!

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT)

I wonder if Jesus is thinking of you this very minute, choosing special things for your dwelling place that are sure to delight you? Is He customizing your eternal home as we speak, selecting appointments with care, knowing the joy they will bring you?

If you’re a believer in Jesus, you can be assured that He is preparing a special place for you…

…and it’s going to be spectacular!

© 2020 Lori J. Cartmell. All rights reserved.