3 October | Teens
«Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 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. And if I go and 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: 1-3
The Bible is full of symbols that help us understand more complex topics. Jesus used several of them, as we have already seen, claiming to be the Bread of life, the Light of the world, among others. However, there are also other symbols that, in order to understand them, we have to know the culture of the time. A great example is today’s text.
In John 14, we see that Jesus is preparing a place for us to dwell eternally with Him. That is exactly what the groom was supposed to do! He would propose to the bride and prepare a house for her. After he fin-ished, he would gather all the guests and pick up the bride, having a big party. It is exactly the same thing that is going to happen to us. Jesus is introduced as our bridegroom, and He promised that He would pre-pare a place for us in Heaven and return to fetch us, along with His guests—all the angels! And they will come in a great celebration! After all, this will be the most amazing wedding this world will ever witness!
An important detail: what about the bride? What was she doing while her fiancé was preparing her new home? She prepared herself every day, as she did not know the day when her fiancé would pick her up. That is exactly what we need to do, wait and watch, for the Bridegroom is coming!
Take Action
Create a symbolic wedding invitation for the big day when Jesus will return. Use colored paper, pens, and decorations to make a special invitation. In it, write a message about what you expect for Jesus’s return and how you are preparing for this great event. Just a detail, there is no point in putting a date, some people have already tried it and it did not work very well...