Welcome Home

When we get done on this earth there will be a party in heaven for incoming believers.

Chances are, you’ve been to a wedding or two. I’ve been to two this year, in fact. One was quite lavish, from the wedding chapel to the dining hall that housed the reception. The other was less ornate but still impressive. The common thread between the two was dancing, exuberance, and general celebration.

When you see a wedding, that is a happy day not only for the groom and bride, but it can be exciting for their friends and family as well. All seems bright ahead. On that day love knows no bounds. Imperfections are overlooked and the positive is emphasized. Everyone present is in his or her best clothes, is spotlessly clean and well groomed, perhaps better than they’ve been in years. Most of the time the memories of that day will last a lifetime, not only in pictures, but also in the minds of those who were there.

It’s also a time when old wounds get put aside to celebrate the wonder of the event. You might see someone you didn’t like so much, but for now you’ll tolerate them and maybe even exchange a few kind words.

All this is a glimpse of our reception in heaven.

There’s a picture in the parable of the prodigal son that is appropriate. The father who let his son squander his inheritance out of sheer unconditional love doesn’t receive him with a rebuke. He doesn’t make him a slave in his household or bring up his faults. No, he has the fatted calf killed to honor his son’s return from the abyss of sin.

This is how the Father will welcome us.

God loves you right now. He loves you without condition. He loves you when you obey and when you don’t. Neither will make Him love you more or less. It’s all about Jesus and His righteousness anyway. That is what God the Father sees when He looks at His children. Since He loves Jesus, He loves us. And because He loves us so much, He gave Jesus so He could have us.

Like the marriage vows, God plans to keep us forever, but even after death.

When you get Home, you’ll see what unconditional love is. It’s what your heart yearns for most.

You experience it now in Christ.