Painted Faces - the masks people wear

Mansions and daisies...

    Jesus – name above all names. Brother, friend, husband, Saviour, Lord. I never doubt Him, but often doubt my hearing of Him. Did He really say that? He whispers on the wind, breathes words into my head, dances with me in the wildflowers. His eyes are piercing, arresting, hold your attention.

   He sits on a wooden garden bench, and I sit at His feet on the grass, threading daisies and tell Him everything. We are in our secret garden, and it is peaceful, quiet, as though all He ever wanted to do was listen to me. As if I have value, more than I can ever know. He laughs at me, with me, teases me. He mends my broken soul.

     I have visited Him here for years now on and off. It is in my mind, but so much more than that. I can trust Him, know Him, depend upon Him. He will never betray me or let me down. My heart aches to know Him more. His understanding is complete, before I even explain. How could it be otherwise, when He has suffered all and more than any of us ever have? He is not some distant, holy God with no knowledge of what it is to be merely human. He made sure of that when He took human form and lived among us. He has lived through birth, adolescence, betrayal, losing a parent, mocking, even cutting a tooth and having to learn new skills. He has been sorrowful and anxious, hurt, angry, abandoned and rejected. He was beaten, tortured and then murdered. And yet He alone was innocent. He is therefore more than qualified, by whatever standard you put forward, to understand. Anything. And I am so grateful.

Trust Me

    Do you hear Him? Is He whispering your name? Will He give you a new name even? The walls of heaven are so far but actually so near. 

    Have you ever thought about the mansion that Jesus has prepared for you? I have. Especially since the night my dad died when Jesus used me in a spiritual battle for his soul. One thing He told me to tell Dad was that He has prepared a mansion for him – his new home. Jesus talks about this in 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."

   Now this must have meant a lot to Dad; his mother came from a very wealthy family, with butlers, servants and private schooling in the early 1900s. She married against her family's wishes and was effectively disowned. Then in the great depression of 1929 she and my grandfather had to walk off their farm. With ten children she had gone from great privilege to utter poverty and often not enough food to feed her children. Dad had often quipped that he would have quite liked to have been born a couple of generations earlier, with servants, a butler and mansion. So, Jesus spoke his language, spoke to his heart, and caught his attention. He has prepared for us a mansion! Not a cottage, hut, or cabin – a mansion. Don't you think He will have filled it with everything He knows we love? It's not just a place to be, exist – it's our eternal home, our own special part of heaven. 

So, have you ever imagined how yours might look?

    I know mine has a large library, full of all the books I have loved and those I might yet wish to read. There is a large veranda all around the outside of a two story, gleaming white structure and green grass and wildflowers lead to a beautiful wood maybe a couple of paddocks away. There are horses, dogs, and birds of all kinds roaming freely. It is private; this is where I spend time alone with the Lord and others I might invite here. I ride bareback on the horses and enjoy the peace and light. Everything is golden; or at least basking in what we would call beautiful sunlight. The front of the house I see less clearly, but I know that not far away is a beautiful beach with white, soft sand and shells of all kinds to collect. The waves are caressing the shore, never too big or fierce. Here there is freedom to swim, sail and chat with friends and family. 

   I have seen only really a glimpse of inside; light and airy with high ceilings and a beautiful entrance hall with a staircase leading up to the right. There is a round table in the middle, with some sort of vase or statue sitting on it. I can't quite make out what this might be. A door to the left leads into another room; I can see a chair, but nothing else. 

   This image has not changed since once I asked Jesus to show me my mansion. I had the sense that it was made with only me in mind, constructed in a way that He knew would be pleasing to me, including the longings of my heart. So, my impression of this place is as much of its atmosphere, its feel as of anything solid and materialistic.

     What does your mansion look like? Ask Jesus to reveal it to you – you may be surprised how willing He is to do this –  it helps us realise that our life here is temporary; our hearts are intended to be focused on the eternal, not the troubles we battle with here in this life. We live in a world that is actually not our home, where we belong. We are children of the living God, and our home is with Him. Our eyes should always be on eternity and eagerly awaiting, looking, for His return. 

    Never give Satan the victory, for he is a roaring lion, prowling the earth to try and trip us up, steal our hope and turn us away from God. But his only power is what we allow him to have. He will try to trick us with lies, half-truths and temptations, but ultimately the choice is always ours. Remember - he cannot touch a saved child of God without their permission.