In My Fathers House by Jason G. Lutz

“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)

Salvation is the most important Thing.  My apologies to those of you in the Open Door class as we have been hammering this point home for a couple of months.  Yet, I truly believe this central Truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ needs to be drawn out regularly.  Our Lord taught, our Lord healed, our Lord fed, our Lord challenged the existing thought… Yet, His priority first and foremost was providing Salvation: reconciliation with God and an eternal existence in His glory.

Here are two ways in which this Understanding is helpful (there are more but I try to keep this short).

1. We can always do one more thing.  We can always donate one more dollar.  We can always join one more civic action.  We can always show one more kindness.  There is intense pressure on the Christian from both within the Church and outside of the Church to do one more thing.  We cannot escape this pressure and we certainly have a Duty to perform.

Yet, Salvation is the most important Thing.  We can rest in knowing this, and it brings a great deal of Liberty to us.  We shall not be overwhelmed by the unfillable void of works; we shall be satisfied through repentance and redemption.

2.   This singular focus of Salvation brings the Ideal of love to life, it shines in our being what His love is. I have to believe the    most grand message of His love is telling another person “I want to spend eternity with you in our Father’s house”.

Here we should acknowledge that where God’s will is absent sin is present, and we are called to encourage those whom we love away from sin and toward His will.  When we refuse to affirm sexual immorality (and all sex outside of marriage including viewing pornography is sin), we are not bigots we are showing love.  When we admit that overindulgence of food and drink or the consumption of illegal drugs desecrates the body, which is a temple; we are not being judgmental we are being honest.  When we exhort men to fill roles in the family and the church that only men are called to fill, we are not being sexist we are being obedient to our God.  When we forgive the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 70^th time, we are not being weak we are being as the Father is.