Post 83 The Great Exchange: A Home for Homelessness!

Grace and Faith

Before we go there, let me remind you of the relationship between Grace and Faith. God offers the free gift, and we describe it as Grace. Something that is unearned or undeserved but is made available by Faith for every Believer of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 11:1 states that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” In simple terms, Faith makes something already available a present reality. That which is available is what God has provided by Grace!

This reminds me of a story I heard many years ago. A wealthy Christian father promised his son a new car when he graduated from school. On graduation day, the son was filled with excitement, anticipating a new car. The son expecting the keys to a new car was shocked and angry when the Father gave him a bible instead.  

The son was so disappointed and upset at the gift of a Bible instead of a car that he left the Father’s home and refused to speak to his Father for ten years.  

The Bible sat on a shelf unopened all that time. One day the young man was moving things around on his bookshelf, and the Bible fell to the floor. As he bent down to pick up the Bible, an envelop fell out of the Bible. He opened the envelop to find a bank check made out to the car dealership for a new car! The young man broke down and cried, now realizing that he always had what his Father had promised, but the promise sat on a shelf unopened for ten years. 

Faith is believing what God the Father has said, which is His Grace, and then acting upon what was promised. All of the promises of God are given to us by Grace, but it is our Faith that acts upon the promise-keeper and makes it real. That is an important point; our Faith is not in the promise alone, but in the Promise-keeper, Jesus! 

The Exchange

In the last three episodes, we have mentioned three promises made available by Jesus. These particular promises are called exchanges, a term used with scriptural covenants. Jesus took something and gave us something better. He gave us Forgiveness for Sin, Life for Death, and Heaven for Hell.

A Home for Homelessness

As I said earlier, we will be looking at the truth that “Jesus took our lost and homeless condition and gave us an eternal home.” The key scripture is John 14:2, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” In other words, we have a home in Heaven. 

While we don’t know a lot about Heaven, we do know that it is a place of great joy, peace, and worship. God says in Revelation 21:4, “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.” Therefore, by Faith, we believe that every good thing will be made available to us in Heaven. 

The verse before John 14:2, Jesus says, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In other words, don’t worry about your future simply trust in Him. Jesus then confirms that He is “the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 

Present Situation

No matter what your situation is at present, God has a plan for your future, and it is a good plan; it is a plan to prosper you. You may be living in wealth and security, or you may just be getting by. Jesus promised to give you what you need. Too often, we worry about what we don’t have instead of being grateful for what we do have. 

Do Not Worry

Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 

26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little Faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

The key is to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Remember, Jesus knew how to get by with what He needed instead of what He wanted. In Matthew 8:20 Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Jesus said this in the context of giving up everything to follow Him. However, it also shows that Jesus didn’t overly concern Himself with the trappings of success in this life. Jesus didn’t own homes, have a big bank account, or anything else that in His time would indicate wealth. However, He had the greatest treasure of all! That was the peace of God that comes with the knowledge of God that surpasses all understanding. 

As someone once said, “We sometimes think that poverty is only being hungry, naked, and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for is the greatest poverty.” Through the Great Exchange, God, through Jesus Christ, has made you wanted, loved, and cared for by the Creator of this Universe!

Always remember that there is a “Mansion” for you in Heaven where there is joy, peace, and love. All of this because Jesus gave you a home.