HOUSE DEED“Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” –Matthew 25:34
The legal paper was titled “Full Reconveyance,” and it ended years of penny-pinching to pay off our house mortgage. In convoluted legal language, it said that the “deed of trust” (the mortgage agreement with a lender) had been “fully satisfied” and “all right, title and interest” was now conveyed to the paid-up homeowners. We left the bank clutching those legal papers and rejoicing over a milestone.
Ours is just a small earthly “starter” home, but we know we also have a home in Heaven whose mortgage was paid by God. “Full reconveyance” of the Heavenly home became possible when His son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for our sins. Instead of monthly payments, we make a life-changing decision to accept God’s offer of eternal life with Him. We have “all right, title and interest” at the point of salvation.
Many have the mistaken idea that they have to “work” their way to Heaven, making regular deposits of “good works” with some divine mortgage company. These “good works” payments, they hope, will offset bad behavior and attitudes. But God’s offer of Heaven isn’t about “doing.” It’s about “done.” Nobody could ever be “good enough” for Heaven. Sin excludes us. But Jesus died for those sins. The door to Heaven has cross-beams. It’s not about good works, “hoping hard,” or having others “pray you there.” It’s about the cross and believing that Jesus was the Son of God.
Many have a hard time accepting that. Jesus faced the same challenge every time religious leaders disputed His claim to be God’s Son. Twenty five times in the Gospel of John, He began His answers with an emphatic phrase. In the King James version it’s “Verily, verily.” In the original Greek, it’s amen, amen. The little word “amen” that we use almost mindlessly as a “period” to a prayer is packed with intensity and urgency in the Bible’s original language. “So be it!” “This is absolutely true!” “Get this right!” “Truth, truth!” This was the urgent, myth-shredding truth He wanted them to embrace: “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).
Believing Jesus cancels the mortgage obligation. Paid in full. Heavenly occupancy upon earthly death. The guarantee came with Jesus’ resurrection. That pinnacle event of human history is our guarantee that we too will be raised back to life, given Heaven-ready bodies, and live forever in the presence of God (2 Cor. 4:14).
It gets better. On earth, most people move into old houses and fix them up. Even new houses require tweaking. Maybe they lack landscaping or an appliance gives up before its warranty is out. Our Heavenly homes will be brand new, absolutely suited to us. In the vision of Heaven given John, God emphasized, “I am making everything new!...Write this down for these words are trustworthy and true” (Rev. 21:5). The vision upon which we base our understanding of Heaven wasn’t the wild dream of an old man in exile. It was God communicating. The amazing thing is that Jesus had a preview of our Heavenly homes-in-progress, and told us! “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you” (John 14:1).
Even Israel’s King David, already occupying a king’s sumptuous palace, declared, “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” (Psalm 27:4). The great 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon said, “We pine for our Father’s house above, the home of our souls; if we may but dwell there forever, we care but little for the goods or ills of this poor life” (1).
We can be sure of this. Our Heavenly home won’t need euphemisms to get us interested in going there. Nothing like these ads selling earthly homes:
“Cozy starter home.” (Small and shoddy.)
“Quiet neighborhood.” (Back yard borders a cemetery.)
“Close to shopping.” (Mega Mall is across the street.)
“Unique floor plan.” (Remodeled by crazies.)
“Handyman’s special.” (Puts you on first-name basis with the hardware store clerks.)
The already-paid-for Heaven-home is so astonishing that it surpasses any human vocabulary for description. The apostle Paul called it “inexpressible.” Peter reminded us that it will never perish, spoil, or fade while being kept ready for us (1 Peter 1:4).
It’s our inheritance in Christ, millennia in preparation, eternity in occupation. The last home we’ll ever need. Perfect in every way. Already paid for, by a Cross.
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for paying the ultimate price, Your death on a cross, so that I can be assured of an eternal home in Heaven. Amen.
(1) C.W. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Vol. 2 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1891), pp. 2-3, quoted in Debra Evans, Soul Satisfaction: For Women Who Long For More (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2001), p. 136.
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