Are You a Member?

Are You a Member?

    Many country clubs are very exclusive places. One must be a member to enjoy the facilities. One of my daughters is currently a hostess at a country club. Because of an unfortunate incident with a deer one night while driving home, she found herself in need of a ride to work for her next shift.

    As we turned into the facility and I took in the beautiful surroundings, she advised me to keep driving. We drove through the lot, right past the front doors, and almost all the way around the lot. Just before the edge of the lot, she said it was okay to pull in to let her out. She explained that the workers needed to park the furthest away, and that she needed to enter through the back. Members enter through the front; help enter through the back; members enjoy the amenities at the facility; workers provide those amenities.

    While this is of course typical protocol, the concept made me think about my relationship with the Lord. Jesus reassured his disciples with the following words from John 14: 1-4, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father's house has many room; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."

    Forgive me for using a country club for the sake of comparison, 

but let's explore this.

     I can't get into a country club because I haven't paid the dues; I can get into heaven because Jesus paid my dues with his sacrifice on the cross. Not only that, but Jesus says there is a room prepared for me. I don't have to park at the outskirts of the lot; I don't have to enter through the back door.

    I can freely and confidently walk through the doors knowing that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for me. As if that weren't enough, but Jesus also promises to be there with us. 

    Maybe we have the same question as Thomas had when hearing Jesus' words. We aren't told whether Thomas boldly asked Jesus this question or whether he pulled Jesus aside and whispered the words, but the conversation continues in John 14:5-6. "Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?' Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

    Today, since I am not a member of a country club, I can not walk in to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere, but I can be assured by Jesus' own words. I have a better place waiting for me if I put my faith in Jesus.

Prayer: Dear Father, I trust in you and in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I desire to live with you now and into eternity. I surrender my life to you, Lord. In Jesus' Name. Amen.