A Sense of Place

I have been contemplating John 14:1–3.

The New International Version reads, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; 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.” I am intrigued by the phrases many rooms and prepare a place.

I grew up on the King James Version, which says “many mansions” instead of “many rooms.” But I have learned that the King James Version phrasing, which can lead to a materialistic interpretation of the verse, is not an accurate one.

The Greek word translated as “rooms” in the NIV has a vague concept of “a space for you.” The idea is similar to the way Bedouins enlarge their tents to provide sleeping space for more and more guests and family members.

It is a relational term more than a spatial expression. Jesus’ going to provide a place for us after His resurrection is the action of His reconnecting us with the Father and cementing our right to be in the Father’s heart and home forever, despite the great rebellion that removed us in the first place. More and more, the phrase “a sense of place” is used here in this world in political and lifestyle discussions. It can refer to the setting in which one grew up—in the city or the countryside. It can refer to the region of the world from which one’s ancestors most recently came rather than one’s current country of residence. It can also be used concerning where one feels “at home.” Bars and pubs have long been that place for a segment of society, and in some areas of the world, coffee houses and, now, nonalcoholic bars are available to provide “a sense of place.” I am overjoyed that because of the resurrection, my “sense of place” is in the Father’s heart and home. I can claim that space right now, to a limited degree, whether or not I have a happy niche in which I belong here on this earth. But even more, someday, in heaven or the earth made new or anywhere else in the universe for that matter, the place Jesus has prepared for me by His death and resurrection is secure, forever and ever.

Kathy Beagles Coneff