Let the Preparations Begin

What2Say2Day? It's a family tradition to give our home a detailed cleaning before the New Year. We do this by moving furniture and getting to all the corners, reaching high to wipe the ledges, and cleaning louvers, windows and screens as well as other things we only clean a couple times a year. It's a chore, especially since it's just my wife and I these days (being empty-nesters and all). But we get through it, slowly with teamwork and patience.

Doing a quick research of the word "prepare" in the Gospels I found it was listed 28 times. What I found more interesting, though, is that the word is only listed twice in the Gospel of John. In John 14 Jesus is talking to his disciples about going to prepare a place for them and is questioned by the disciples about how they'll know where to go. I want to focus on verses 2 and 3:

²In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?^{* 3}And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.  (NRSV)

I find it interesting that Jesus tells his disciples that he goes to prepare a place in heaven for them, and if he does that then he'll come back to take them there himself. To me Jesus is saying that if he's going to go through all that trouble of cleaning behind the couch and removing water stains from the windows, we better believe he'll want us in his house. So much so that he'll come and get us himself and do what it takes to make sure we enter his home and sit at his table to share a meal and, more so, share our lives.

In this week when we all prepare for the coming of the New Year let's remember to also prepare our hearts and minds for a New Life in Christ. Oh, and by the way - Merry Christmas!