A ‘many mansions’ view of our heritage
Recognizing that everyone has a place in the kingdom of God, good, brings about a deeper understanding and experience of home.
“In my Father’s house are many mansions,” Jesus told his followers (John 14:2).
Praying about the need for a secure and satisfactory home that so many around the world are facing, I’m struck by the magnitude of that heritage, the abundance of this vision of the “mansions” in God’s kingdom. To me, this picture of overflowing substance is a nudge to look beyond what the material senses show us to a spiritual view of existence, one that isn’t confined by limitations or lack.
Christian Science explains that this boundless realm is where we – in our true nature as the spiritual expressions of God – actually live. We don’t need to wait for the kingdom of heaven to appear at some unknown future moment. It’s already within us, as the Gospel of Luke records Jesus saying.
And this great Teacher showed us through many healing works that we are able to experience this spiritual fact in tangible ways right here and now. The kingdom of God is “within reach of man’s consciousness here,” Mary Baker Eddy, a devoted follower of Jesus, explains in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” (p. 576). That’s the truth for all of us.
When we’re open to this expansive view of the kingdom of heaven, well, we can’t also hold to a view that’s hopeless and full of friction. We come to realize that those two conceptions of existence are simply incompatible. It’s not possible to be the children of God – the spiritual, cared-for expressions of infinite Love – while also never quite having enough of what we need.
No one is better situated than another to understand this. Christ – God’s message of truth – is speaking to everyone, revealing to us the spiritual goodness we have been given. As we yield to this message instead of the cacophony of the challenges we face, we see constraints fall away.
In practicing Christian Science, I’ve seen the effect of leaning toward the Christly view of “many mansions” instead of toward the mixed bag of good and bad that the material senses purport to be our fate.
For instance, recently my husband and I were gently shepherded by God to a new house. This was after a long stretch where our apartment had been inadequate for our activities, particularly my new work-from-home job, and trying to find a home that met our needs and budget had felt strenuous.
As we prayed about this situation, the big turning point for me was embracing a more spiritual, infinite sense of home. I realized that I feel most at home when I’m cherishing the inspiring spiritual ideas of God’s Word. So that’s where I started to “abide” – that is, I recognized the bounty of the eternal qualities of God’s creation, unhindered by material sense. I was comforted to see that it’s not possible to leave the realm of spiritual reality, where none of God’s children can lack anything.
Our experience shifted. The search for new accommodations became a joy, and led to a home that meets our needs beautifully, in a location that’s central to the communities we’re a part of. From this new house, we feel able to freely bless and be blessed.
It’s a modest example compared to the troubles many are facing, but the empowering truth behind it is available in all situations. If we’re feeling trapped by an insecure, material view of home, through prayer we can embrace the spiritual qualities that define our true existence. Then we find them increasingly represented in our lives.
The harmony that results from relying on God looks different in every situation, but it always defies limited beliefs and demonstrates that we dwell in the kingdom of God, good.
If it seems too hard to even consider that we live in God’s house, it helps to lean more into our divine Father-Mother’s immense love for us. The First Epistle of John says, “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them” (4:16, New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition). We don’t need to win God’s love and care. None of us could ever lose them.
Not one person is left without their own heritage of spiritual mansion-living. That’s cause for rejoicing! And though we might not see this fact fully manifested in the blink of an eye, we don’t need to stray from letting this truth inspire our prayers when we face or hear reports of adversity. Then, we can celebrate the big and small ways this Christly view of home shows forth.