Why did Jesus leave the beauty, peace and joy of heaven to come to this earth with all of its evil, ills and troubles?

For our lesson today, I’m going to pose a question to you and then proffer you an answer that I hope helps us to understand, simply and concisely, Jesus and His mission.  The question that I pose is:   “Why did Jesus leave the beauty, peace and joy of heaven to come to this earth with all of its evil, ills and troubles?”

I know that there are as many answers available to that question as there are preachers and teachers but, as the author of this editorial, I’m going to provide you with my answer to it.  I’d also like to mention something here in regards to  teaching Bible based lessons to others, whether individually or class-wise.  I believe that the simpler you can make your lesson, the more easily it can be understood, thus the more effective in can be.  That is my goal with this lesson today.  To be simple and effective.

Let’s return to the original premise of our lesson, stated in question form and, in keeping with my stated purpose of teaching a synoptic and concise lesson, I’ll answer it this way. 

In the first part of the 14th chapter of John we see an interesting dialogue taking place between Jesus and His disciples.  He’s telling them about heaven and the “many mansions” prepared for His followers and that they can come and be where he will be. 

Then Thomas, one of His disciples, said, (and I paraphrase) “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going so how can we know the way?”  Jesus’ answer to Thomas serves us as the simplest description of Himself and His purpose for coming to the earth that we’ll find in the Bible.  He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life:  no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

The simple answer to our lesson question is this: He left heaven being sent by His Father to come show us the way to heaven.  And the reason that was necessary is because man, by committing sin, had removed himself from God and the “Tree of Life” (Gen. 3:23-24) and brought death into the world.

But, God loved His creature, man, and wasn’t willing to write him off eternally (2Pet. 3:9) and provided him with a plan, a road map, if you will, whereby man could return to paradise and God.  I submit to you that His Son, Jesus Christ, is that road map.  That plan to guide us back into a state of conciliation with God.

In thinking of Jesus as our guide, our road map to heaven, let me update our thinking a little and present Him with a more modern descriptor.  I’m speaking of something that has, over last few years, become so commonplace in the world that just about everyone can relate to it.  I’m talking about a device known as a GPS. 

If you have a smart phone, you have a GPS, which is the acronym for Global Positioning System.  Basically, a GPS provides us with 5 things: location, navigation, timing, mapping and tracking.  By using this device, we can know where we are, where we’re going and how to get there.  I ask you, does this not apply to our seeing Jesus as our GPS?

Let’s look for another moment at the five things a GPS provides and apply them to our thoughts today.  First, location: we know exactly where we are, don’t we?  What our “state” is in relation to God?  We’re sinners and as such, we’ve “come short of the glory of God.”  (Rom. 3:23)

But, God sent His Son to earth to provide us with “navigation” back to Him.  (John 3:16-17).  Navigation is simply the process of getting from our starting place to our destination.  Or, in other words, a “way” a path or a guide.  Jesus said, “I am the way.”  We navigate our way to heaven by and through Him.

Our third “thing” is “time.”  This is something that our spiritual GPS cannot  tell us.  It can’t tell us how long our journey will be or how much time we have to complete our journey.  However, He does warn us to “take heed, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is (will come)” (Mk. 13:33) We know that we’ve begun our journey and we know that at some point in time, it will end.  We just don’t know that time.

The fourth thing provided by a GPS is “mapping.”  That simply means a specified route that we are to follow in order to reach our destination.  And, since our destination is heaven and Christ is our GPS, it is His Gospel that specifies the route.  It tells us exactly what we are to do in order to make it safely to where He is.  Remember what He said, “where I am, there ye may be also.”  (John 14:3)

Our fifth and final thing that a GPS provides is “tracking.”  With Jesus as our guide, our GPS, we can know at any give time, where we are in relation to Him.  We can know whether we’re on course to our destination or whether we’ve gone “off track” so to speak.  Whether we’re still on the “narrow way” or whether we’ve slipped off onto the “broad” one that leads to a destination far different from heaven.

In closing, let me reiterate.  It’s really a simple thought lesson as to why Jesus left heaven and came to earth.  To serve us as a guide, as “the way” to return to The Father in paradise.  To get to where the “Tree of Life” is located and in the presence of that tree, we have eternal life.

And, in keeping with the theme of our lesson today, allow me to ask you three questions.  One - Do you know where you are?   Two - Do you know your destination?  And three - if you want it to be heaven - Do you know how to get there?  It’s very simple.  You have a GPS available.  It’s Jesus Christ and His Gospel and if you use it, you’ll have the answer to those three questions.

--Ron Covey