As a middle-aged adult, I am not living the life I had envisioned when I was growing up. Perhaps you can relate. This can be the case in various ways: the person we did (or didn’t) marry, the city we live in, or what type of job or career we have. But one thing I never expected was that I would struggle financially. Looking back, that reality has emerged from a complicated swirl of my own decisions and lack of wise counsel, as well as from life circumstances completely out of my control, including chronic illness that places many limitations on me and restricts the boundaries of viable options.
For many non-homeowners (myself included), the events that have occurred in the U.S. housing market since 2020 have had crushing effects on our dreams of home ownership. We saw our ability to buy a house grow incredibly out of reach, while at the same time, rising rental costs pressure us as well. Even some who do own homes are still struggling in this climate, whether that be the widow on a fixed income, the single parent, or married couples whose net income is about equivalent to their expenses.
These realities can feel suffocating at times. Words like pressure, strain, stress, anxiety, and overwhelm certainly fit the experience, even at times crossing over to feelings of despair or desperation. What hope do we as believers have in circumstances like these? What do we do with the heaviness and burden of our adult responsibilities when we’re up against these realities? Is there rest for the weary or hope for the discouraged?
One day, just out of curiosity, I started researching the cost of solid gold jewelry as opposed to the cheaper gold plating and gold fill that the average accessory company sells. I found that a 14-karat-gold necklace weighing one gram wholesales for around $150. As a point of reference, a paper clip weighs approximately one gram. In other words, a tiny, flimsy, paper clip’s worth of gold is worth about $150. Then I looked up the cost of a coin made of gold. A person could buy a gold coin weighing one ounce for around $2,000. For reference, a pencil weighs about one ounce. A pencil-weight of gold for thousands of dollars. I was shocked by what a small amount of gold, relatively speaking, sold for such a large (to me) amount of money. And this real-world example brought a whole new perspective to how the Bible speaks of the new heavens and earth.
We read in Revelation 21:21 that the streets of the new Jerusalem are paved with gold. As a child, I thought that gold just represented beauty and splendor. But as an adult with bills and financial pressures, I realize it signifies more than that: it speaks of abundance. Just imagine the implications of this. In the new heavens and earth, nothing will need to be rationed or budgeted for. Resources will be so abundant and available that gold can be used as liberally as concrete, without a second thought about the bottom line or going into the red. Such abundance makes the industry giants, entrepreneurs, and moguls of this age look like schoolchildren with an allowance by comparison.
Perhaps this is why it’s best to understand Jesus’ words in John 14:2 as “In my Father’s house are many rooms,” as opposed to the King James Version’s “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” When we think of rooms, or “abodes,” in the Father’s house, it connotes the sense of ease and freedom that children experience when their parents have resources to sufficiently provide for them. For example, children are typically free to enjoy the adventure of a family vacation without thinking about how much the hotel, gas, and food are going to cost. They can simply rejoice in the abundance and enjoyment of the moment. Such will be our experience as children in our Father’s house.
Our hearts will no longer be torn and divided as we are now as adults living in a fallen world, managing limited resources with limited wisdom and limited opportunities. In other words, we’ll be able to order a side of guacamole whenever we want, regardless of the current price of avocados. We will fall back into the arms of perfect and unending provision, never again looking at a price tag, saving up for a big purchase, or worrying about how we’re going to pay the bills. We won’t need a word to convey the concept of scarcity, because there will be no such thing anymore.
To be sure, these glorious truths don’t change the reality of our financial pressures in this life. It will still be hard. But it does mean that our current struggles are neither permanent nor the end of the story. Change is coming, a new world is coming, and we can’t possibly overimagine the glories that await us.
Listen to the words of Isaiah 65, where God tells us about the new heavens and earth:
- “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind” (v. 17)
- “Be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness” (v. 18)
- “No more shall be heard . . . the sound of weeping and the cry of distress” (v. 19)
- “They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit” (v. 21)
- “My chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands” (v. 22)
Joy, gladness, abundance, and freedom from cares and constraints. This is your inheritance in Christ, and it’s guaranteed (see 1 Peter 1:4–5). So take heart, believer. You have a wonderful future ahead of you, better than you or I can imagine. In the meantime, may we wait for the Lord, be strong, and let our hearts take courage (see Ps. 27:14).