Tom and I live in an RV that is custom built.  That means that we chose the size, the layout, and the finishes, the same way that we would if we built a house with the help of a builder.  We chose to work with New Horizons because we trusted the way they built other RVs we saw.  In thinking about the ways we like our RV, it made me consider the Carpenter of our heavenly home and the ways we are building our heavenly home now.

In John 14:2, Jesus tells his disciples, “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?”  I have read this passage many times – especially at funerals – and think of it as a comforting verse.  Jesus, after all, was a carpenter, so it makes sense that he is the builder, the carpenter, of our heavenly home.  I’m not sure what kind of home it will be, but I can trust Jesus to prepare it for me.

I also have a hand in the way my heavenly home will look.  Faith in Jesus alone earns us our spot in heaven.  But I can choose the layout and the finishes.  In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus tells us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  We get to choose the furnishings, the treasures, in our heavenly home.  

So, what kind of things are you storing up in your heavenly home?  Is it filling with good deeds, with thoughtfulness and kindness, with love?  Is it full of songs sung in praise to God, with people visited, with cards written and good thoughts sent?  Are you working to protect or care for those that are the victims of injustice or evil?  How much food have you collected for your heavenly pantry?  How many books that have pointed you toward God will you have in your heavenly library?

Someday – we don’t know when – we will leave this earthly home and move to our heavenly home.  Jesus is the carpenter of our heavenly home and I can trust him to do whatever he thinks is best with my eternal life.  And, until I get there, I can work to fill that heavenly home with treasures that will be waiting for me.