One Place Not Prepared and One Place Prepared — for Me
When I get in our Honda Pilot to drive after Rebecca has driven, it does not fit. I have to readjust the seat for it to fit. I pulled out a pair of pants hanging in the far corner of my closet. I was wondering why they were not with the others. When I tried them on, I found the answer. They did not fit! Major adjustments would have to be made.
We have a common saying that describes well these types of scenarios. You can’t put a square peg in a round hole. Now, you can adjust the round hole to be big enough to accept the square peg. Or, you can round the edges of the square peg until it fits into the round hole. But, even if you do one of these things, that square peg will not fit into the round hole as there will still be unfilled areas in the hole around the peg. If there are no unfilled areas, you no longer have a round peg!
Jesus said that there is an everlasting fire that is prepared for the devil and his angels. The judgment day scene revealed in Matthew 25:41 reads, “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” God has no desire for any of His created children to go to that place. The question that asks why God would send anyone to hell fails to understand that He does not want them to go there.
Hell is the punishment for the choice to serve the devil. Sure, the devil’s prepared place on the other side is big enough to accommodate all the people who live like the devil on this side. But, it was not designed for any of us. Like that pair of pants you have outgrown or that little gas-saving car, hell just will not fit who you really are, given the fact that you are made in the image of God.
But, heaven is a prepared place for us. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also.” (John 14:1-4). So, if the everlasting fire was not prepared for me and Jesus has a place prepared for me, what is the difference?
A prepared place fits those for whom it is prepared. We are spiritual people with bodies of flesh. Our real nature is a spiritual one; it is the image of God. The prepared place fits our spiritual nature. It is not aligned with the things that catch our attention here, but rather, it is aligned with what the spiritual nature craves. It fits that nature. This place has a form that fits us. It is a place that was intentionally made for us. It has passed the Jesus test. It is securely in reserve for us.
Formed. When something is formed, it is molded into a particular shape. We must be formed to fit the design of heaven.
Intentional. Heaven is an intentionally designed place that can only be attained by intention.
Tested. As that place has passed the Jesus test, so too we must pass the test to enter that place.
Secure. Heaven is a securely held place. We must understand our security with Jesus for that place.
— Mike Johnson
