+ The Lord has ascended to prepare:
When Jesus said to His disciples “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” ( John 14:3). These words were directed to all church members represented by the disciples, where the preparation of the place will be for those who have internally answered the call from the Lord, then arranged their lives while still in the flesh on this earth, to always be in a state of readiness to go with Him when He calls them.
Perhaps the question that comes to our mind is, what is this place that the Lord is referring to?! Is it the garden of Eden from which Adam and Eve were expelled?! Or is it the third Heaven that the Apostle Paul saw and could not express what he saw in words? Is it the paradise that the Lord has promised the right thief when He was on the Cross?! … The answer to all these questions is clear from the words of the Lord Himself:” Where I am, there you may be
also” (John 14:3). And the place of the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of man is on the right hand of the Father” So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God” ( Mark 16:19). Therefore, we, in Jesus Christ will be sitting on the right hand of God, not by force or theft, but with the pleasure of God the Father and by the richness of His grace, as expressed by Saint Paul the Apostle when he says” And He raised
us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in
Christ Jesus” ( Ephesians 2:6-7). Likewise, in the Book of Revelation, the Lord encourages us to strive and persevere in our faith in Him, so that we may conquer, by His grace, and He says:” To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” ( Revelation 3:21). The place that the Lord has prepared for those who love Him is” And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” ( Revelation 21:3-5).
Here, my beloved, we must know the cost that the Lord has to pay for these preparations, and how did He prepare of it?! … Christ, to Whom is all the glory, through His incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension, and His sending to the Holy Spirit, the Comforter Who abides in us(John 14:17). He has arranged for us this great place in heaven, and the price was Giving up Himself, taking the image of a slave, placing Himself behind all of us in complete obedience to the Father, then gladly accepting the pain of crucifixion and carrying our sins into His holy and pure body, accepting to become a curse and a sin for the sake of His love for our salvation, then dying while He is the Life, referring to Himself as the door and the way to this heavenly place “Therefore, brethren, having boldness[a] to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh” ( Hebrews 10:19-20). And after He has made everything ready, He called us with a Holy invitation to come to our place that He has prepared for us, to share His glory with Him “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one” ( John 17:22). The question now is why do we lax in responding to the Lord’s call after He has prepared everything ?!
+ Come:
It is a Divine call, and we expected it to be an order rather than an invitation, but the Lord’s infinite tenderness towards His children, makes Him respect His children’s freedom to choose
Him as their Father and as a Saviour and Redeemer for their souls and as a faithful Shepherd of His own sheep, hence He calls, as the Lord has said in the parable “Then He said to him, “A
certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready” ( Luke 14:16-17). Here the Lord has prepared everything, inviting us with His unlimited love to share His great divine supper, not only in Heaven, but beginning from our life with Him while we are still in this world,” Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I
suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God” ( Luke 22:15-16). The Holy Bible referred to the same meaning in the Book of Proverbs” Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars; She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed her wine, She has also furnished her table. She has sent out her maidens, She cries out from the highest places of the city, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, “Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed” ( Proverbs 9:1-5). And here we stand puzzled at the guests’ reaction” But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come” ( Luke 14:18-20). The master of the house was angry and did not accept the apologies of any of those who were invited, and the reason is that the caller is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and He is the one who bought us for Himself, And we are invited by His Divine Blood, in addition to all that, the place that was prepared is so great in a way that makes all things in this world diminish in front of it” “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him” ( 1 Corinthians 2:9)…. and here is the grave danger of underestimating the Divine call, for God, on His part, did not fail in anything to grant eternal life to those who have been called, and the hour will come when life on this earth will end and everyone will face the One sitting on the throne as a Just Judge. And when the Books are open, in which God’s love and His works for the sake of the salvation of all humanity are seen, those who did not answer the call will see how much they have lost as a result of their negligence, laziness, and their concern for loving themselves and for the love for this works and this earthly dust without loving God and His good deeds for them, and at that time there will be remorse with weeping and gnashing of teeth when they say” to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” ( Revelation 6:16-17). And once again we become certain that as much as the greatness of the Caller is, so shall be the greatness of His anger and condemnation.
+ It is an hour for us to wake up
Let us listen and Start now, as the time is short” And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk [a]properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” ( Romans 13:11-14). For how long will we reject the call of God?! And why do we not reach out to Him while we are drowning in the depths of the sea of the world and our various desires, so He can save us as He saved Peter while he was drowning ?! He is willing and prepared to help us if we come to Him, for His hand does not fail to save, we just have to ask Him with all our hearts and with sincere repentance, finding Him embracing us , and let us open our spiritual ears to hear His tender voice calling for our salvation” Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion In the day of trial in the wilderness” ( Hebrews 7:8). He is
still standing at the door and knocking, carrying His Divine supper with Him, announcing to everyone that” Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His
throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ” ( Revelation 3:20-22).
With God who loved us, we have a place in heaven waiting for us, should we then, prefer to live in a distant land with pigs, begging to eat their food to satisfy our hunger, while the Lord has arranged a dinner table for us, at the wedding of the Lamb?! The question is left for each one of us to answer faithfully before our consciences and God, let us start together the good start.